Chapter 18 Mysterious Goodbye Call

Zhu Yi looked at his father who was ordering food from the waitress, thinking about something in his heart. "It's been a long time since I had dinner with my father!" That year, when his father and mother divorced, he was in the second grade of middle school. The waitress waited for Zhengsuke to finish ordering, then left the room and closed the sliding door. Seisuke seemed to be waiting for her to leave. "That's right! I remembered, before I forget." As he spoke, he took out a cardboard box from his underwear pocket.The paper box is tied with a black hard paper string specially used for gifts, and it is written in regular script like an exercise book: "Xiang Dian Tongbu Solicitation".

"No! Such a gift..." He said instinctively. "Father sent incense to his son, and it was left by mother. Thinking about it, I feel a little inappropriate." Zhengsuke said awkwardly, "And ah, when I wrote this name, I really hesitated for a while. , I don’t know if I should write my name correctly or just write “recruitment”. Writing your name so standardly is like giving a gift to someone else who has nothing to do with it…” "After divorce, when one of the couple dies, shouldn't the other party give incense?" "Well. Generally speaking, if the divorce has been more than ten years, most of them have no contact with each other, and they must know about the death of the other party... But this time, you are the bereaved. As far as I am concerned, I should also ask You express your condolences, and I will send you an incense stick... Hey! You accept it!"

Zhengsuke pushed the paper box over. "When did you find out about my mother's death?" Zhu Yi asked. "The body was discovered on the 7th. It was reported in the evening paper that day, and the photos were also published." "By the way. It's Dongxi Shimbun. I remember the first person who suspected that it was a murder case was this newspaper." "I remember it was this newspaper. However, after I went to work in the company the next day, I browsed through the other newspapers in the newspaper folder, and found that except Dongxi Shimbun. The other evening newspapers on the 7th were suspected of suicide. The length of the report is also very small.”

"That's right! However, it seems impossible for Dongxi Shimbun to make a false report. Didn't some of the police think it was a homicide? I was also severely questioned by the police..." After a while, I recalled the very oppressive atmosphere when I was summoned by the police.Although the wording of the interrogator seemed very polite, the same question was raised countless times.This may be precisely because of deep doubts about Zhu Yi. "Huh? Were you in Tokyo when the body was found?" Sosuke asked puzzledly. "No! I'm in Sapporo. New Year's Eve in Tokyo, New Year's Day. On the second and third day, I spent with my mother. On the fourth day, I left the apartment in the morning and returned to Sapporo in the afternoon of the fifth day. I lied to my mother that it was the fourth day. Going to work..."

"Haha... So, you have been sloppy with your mother all day, right? Is it because of your girlfriend?" Seisuke showed a smiling face, pretending to be mischievous on purpose. "Huh? Hey..." Just a little bit. ——When Shizuichi received the notice of his mother's death, he was at his workplace, PA Machinery's Sapporo branch. "Excuse me, are you the fellow Shuichi-kun?" What came from the receiver was the voice of a man with no emotion. "Are you looking for me?" "I'm a police officer from the Gotanda Police Station of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. Tsutsuda Fujino-kun, do you know me?"

"Yes, it's my mother." "Ah, it's your mother! On your mother's form, your name and phone number are filled in the column 'Accident and other contact places'. Is she really your mother?" The other party repeatedly asked "Is it your mother", as if suspecting that the surname was wrong. "My mother changed her name, but Futa Fujino must be my real mother. What happened to my mother?" "Unfortunately, we found the body..." "Found the body? Where was it found? Is it really my mother?" "It's inconvenient to talk about the details over the phone... We called you to confirm the identity of the body... Please go to the Five Anti-Japanese Police Station and find Sudou-kun from the Criminal Division."

Zhuichi immediately got the approval of the branch president to fly back to Tokyo, but he himself felt very strange that there was no sadness in his heart.At the time, it seemed like he just hoped that the notification had been mistaken and that the body belonged to someone else.At least, he should be a little sad, but he was a little surprised to find that there was no such thought in his heart. After his parents divorced, his mother was his guardian, so he grew up in the atmosphere of "mother and child depend on each other".Now that his mother was dead, this was of course what saddened him the most, but he didn't feel that way himself.

It can be seen from this that when my mother was alive, she may have regarded her as a huge pressure, and because the pressure was too heavy, when she learned that her mother had passed away and the pressure was relieved, she felt suddenly easy.At the same time, he was full of confusion about his mother's death, so he didn't have time to feel sad... Indeed, the pressure from his mother, Fujino, is unforgettable to Geichi.He is twenty-six years old and a decent white-collar worker. He has to lie to his mother every time in order to have a tryst with his girlfriend.This fact can be said to be one of the reasons why he felt relieved—…

"Are you going to marry that girlfriend?" After the waitress put the wine and dishes on the table and left, Seisuke brought up the topic again. "I have such a plan, but..." "Have you asked your girlfriend to meet your mother?" The introduction of "your mother" made Jiuyi feel warm. "I've only seen it twice..." Seisuke frowned, deep wrinkles formed between his brows.Those wrinkles didn't exist thirteen years ago... "But what does that girl do?" "She is a female office worker. Before I went to Sapporo, I worked in the sales department of the Tokyo head office. I went to her company to sell office equipment. She received me..."

"Haha, that girl is from Sapporo, right? If that's the case, can't you take her with you when you transfer to Sapporo to work? Besides, if you get married there, your mother has nothing to say..." "Hey! I've already thought about it. If there is really no other way, I will take this method to put all my eggs in one basket, but Miwako said to wait..." In September last year, Zhuichi was ordered to work in the Sapporo branch.The transfer of personnel to work in Sapporo is usually announced in advance around May, but the branch suddenly lacked people. According to the regulations of the head office, employees have to go to the local branch to work sooner or later, so I proposed to the company early in the morning that I hope to work in a branch as far away as possible.As a result, when the branch staff was short this time, he was ordered to step up.

The reason why he wants to work in a distant place is that he hopes to stay away from his mother and start a new life with Miwako Shirasaka in a distant place; however, the transfer order came too suddenly, so it was difficult for Miwako to make up his mind... "I'm looking for you today, of course, to give you the Xiangdian; however, I still want to inquire about your mother's incident." He had already drank more than half of the wine, Zhengsuke's expression hardly changed, he seemed to be the same as before, still drinking a lot. "What do you want to ask?" "The criminal police came to my company this morning and said they wanted to hear what I thought, because I was her husband before. In short, I think their purpose is to ask her if she has the kind of personality that would commit suicide. Judging by their appearance, it is estimated that the final conclusion has not yet been determined as suicide, right?" "So, how do you answer?" "I said, it has been more than ten years since I broke up with her. It is impossible to say that her character remains unchanged, right? So I am not qualified to answer this question; but, I just want to ask you now, what do you think? You Is Mom really going to kill herself?" "What does that mean? Do you think mother was murdered?" "No! Let's not talk about it now. In short, is she the kind of person who would commit suicide..." "To be honest, I'm also skeptical from the perspective of personality. Mom is a person who is unwilling to show weakness, and..." Thirteen years ago, as soon as she divorced Zhengjie, she immediately obtained the consent of her parents to demolish the house where Zhengjie lived and build a six-story apartment on the original land. Therefore, long after the house was built, Jiuyi has always admired his mother: a woman can make such a determination. "If the house isn't demolished, I'll always feel that the man's dirt is everywhere in the room." Afterwards, Fujino absent-mindedly explained to Gunichi; however, these reasons alone were not enough to make her make such a determination.In a way, she is taking this as a sign of success! Fujino is such a strong woman. "Divorce" is a kind of failure for women, and she wants to turn that failure into motivation. "Really? The criminal police said that it is estimated that she is secretly lending usury, and the collection is very strict. That is to say, the police have also heard reports from people that she will not commit suicide, so they want to investigate again." "Ok……" Zhu Yi ambiguously echoed the sound, bringing the wine glass to his lips. "Besides, there's one more thing that's always on my mind. That is, your mother is left-handed, you know?" "Left-handed? There's no such thing? She uses her right hand when holding chopsticks, and she also writes with her right hand!" "That was corrected later. She corrected everything when she was in elementary school before, but she is really left-handed. When twisting towels, she always twists them with her left hand. The same is true for rice balls, mainly with her left hand." Seisuke is making a meal ball with both hands. "Also, when picking up items placed high, she also picked them up with her left hand." "Well...according to you, maybe it is true." Zhuichi also remembered that he once saw his mother take the light bulb with her left hand. "Mom, you should use your right hand when handling it. In case of electric shock, the current will not pass through the heart..."—Of course, he reminded his mother like this. "However, according to the criminal police, her body was found in the bathroom, and there was a razor cut on the wrist of her left hand, so the question arose: Why did she commit suicide by cutting her wrist with her right hand? In other words, in that case, the left hand is easy to use, so the scar should appear on the wrist of the right hand. When cooking before, she used her left hand to hold the kitchen knife..." "Did you tell the criminal police about these things?" "No! No. I want to hear your opinion first." Seisuke looked deeply into Gakuichi's eyes, as if searching for something. "Are you asking for my opinion?" "Well. If your mother didn't commit suicide, people would spread rumors, and I would also be under a lot of pressure, which is very difficult; so, if I want to calm things down, these situations will not be publicized..." "That is to say, are you doubting me?" I asked.Only then did he recall Zheng Jie's scrutinizing gaze just now. "I'm not doubting you! It's just that if it was a murder, I think the murderer would be that guy? But if he is reported, her scandal will be made public." "By 'she' you mean my mother?" "Well. It seems that you can understand what I mean..." "No! I don't understand at all! Who are you talking about?" Zhu Yi asked. The police haven't come to a final conclusion yet. The day after Gunichi met his father, on Saturday, January 12, the criminal police came to visit him at the apartment. It was in the bathroom of this apartment that his mother's body was found, and Kazuichi lived in this room when he was in Tokyo. When he arrived from Sapporo, the survey of the site was over.The police had no objection to his use of the room. "It's a good thing you didn't leave. I was still worried on the way here, thinking that you might have returned to Sapporo." After opening the door one by one, a criminal policeman said kindly, he is the chief of criminal police, his name is Kubo. On the evening of the 7th, he was the one who asked Jiuyi for information. After a while, the criminal police were invited to the sofa in the living room. Zhu Yi happened to be making coffee, so he brought the brewed coffee to the two criminal policemen.Kubo's hesitation made Keichi confused. "What's the matter? Are you still investigating?" Zhuyi asked proactively. "We are conducting a supplementary investigation. Today we are here to verify the phone call again." "You mean the phone call my mother made to Miwako Baisaka's apartment? I told me about that incident when the police approached me twice on the evening of the 7th and the morning of the 8th..." "Yeah! But, we thought, maybe you'll remember some clue after this? So let's take a look." "I didn't think of anything else..." Zhui Yi replied, quite disappointed in his heart.No matter how unwilling they were, it was impossible to drive them away, so in the end they had no choice but to answer Kubo's overly respectful question... My mother's apartment was in Gotanda. On the morning of January 4th, Juichi left his mother's house as he said he was going back to Sapporo.The company started to work on the 7th, but he lied to his mother that the branch office would hold the first meeting after the new year on the afternoon of the 4th. In fact, he and Miwako Shirasaka agreed to spend the 4th and 5th with Miwako. However, Gouichi did not go to Miwako's residence immediately after leaving home. Miwako's parents live in Mito.He knew that Meihezi was going to visit her parents during the first lunar month. She did not return to her home until after 4 pm on the 4th. Therefore, he went to a bookstore and watched a movie to kill time, and then went to Miwako's residence in Oimachi at 4 o'clock as agreed. Miwako has returned home. "Now I'm relieved! If you miss the electric train and haven't returned home, I don't know where I'm going to wander..." Tsuiichi said.Unexpectedly, Miwako's answer surprised Jiu. "You're really worried! To be honest, I arrived in Tokyo at 1:30, and I went to your mother to pay her New Year's greetings before returning." "Did you go to my mother's?" "Yeah! I went back to my hometown and figured it out. I should make your mother happy, and I also wanted to cover it up... When you were not at home, she saw me going to pay New Year's greetings, so she would never think that we had made an agreement in advance... " "What did my mother say?" Ask.Fujino has an extremely unique and keen insight, and he may be able to detect something from Miwako's attitude and words. "It seems very happy. I said that I will go skiing with my friends tomorrow afternoon, and she also said to me, if you like skiing so much, do you want to go skiing in Hokkaido while you are in Sapporo..." "No! You've been fooled! My mother is testing you! She must be suspecting that we had made an appointment like this beforehand, because you answered so fluently! ... My mother is a difficult person to deal with. " Unfortunately, it was found out.Mother Fujino called. At this time, the two had already made love with forgetfulness on the bed.Because their throats were thirsty and they wanted to drink beer, both of them put on their robes and went back to the living room. The moment Miwako took out the beer from the refrigerator and put it on the table, the phone rang. "Who is it? Now this time!" Miwako was puzzled, and trotted to the telephone placed between the kitchen and the living room. "Hi! I'm Miwako." Miwako picked up the receiver and said, but she changed her tone immediately. "Yeah! Sorry, I didn't know it was you." Moreover, she pointed at Zhu Yi and gave her a thumbs up. "Eh? It's my mother?" Tsuiichi asked with his lips squirming. Miwako nodded, and turned to the receiver again. "Are you asking that Kazuichi-kun is here? No. He didn't come here! Didn't you just say that he went back to Sapporo?... Hey! I'm here... no! I won't do that kind of thing!" She replied in an apologetic tone, with an uncharacteristically serious expression on her face. After the phone call, according to Miwako, Fujino called to inquire because he suspected that Kazuichi was here. Did she already feel it?Or call the branch office to look for Chiuichi, and when they learn that the company starts working on the 7th, they speculate that Koichi must be at Miwako's place... It appears the police took the call very seriously.One reason is that no one has spoken to or seen Fujino since the phone call on the 4th.Police took it as her last call.Furthermore, the police estimated that at the end of the call, Fujino might blurt out some unreasonable words. According to Miwako—— Fujino finally said: "If Kazuichi comes to your place, please tell him that I will see you again. Goodbye!" "What? You say goodbye?" Miwako thought she had heard wrong, and asked back. "Yes! Goodbye..." Then, Fujino hung up the phone. "Strange! What do you mean? I can't hear you very well. It does seem to say 'goodbye.'" After Miwako told Geuichi the contents of the phone call, she tilted her head and felt puzzled. "Didn't you hear clearly? Could it be that she is taking sleeping pills?" Zhui Yi said. Ever since Chizuichi went to work in Sapporo, Fujino often complained that she couldn’t sleep, and she was looking for a nearby doctor to prepare sleeping pills; moreover, she called Chizuichi’s office in Sapporo several times when she felt dizzy after taking sleeping pills. In the house. "Maybe it is. Your mother said: 'Meihe Zijun, tell me the truth, is it really with you now?' Her tone sounded very low, very mysterious, very scary..." At that time, Zhuichi and Miwako came to the conclusion that Fujino was in a trance after taking sleeping pills, and called Miwako's home in a daze. "No wonder!" Kubo said. "Your mother's last words were: 'You tell him that I will see you again.' How do you understand this?" "I also said just now that she was in a trance and said inexplicable words because she took sleeping pills. That's how I understood it at the time." "Yeah! That's true, but..." "Speaking of which, taking sleeping pills seems to be to pass the loneliness, so it is not difficult to imagine that she must be very depressed at the time, right? My son has gone to a far away place, and this desolate feeling becomes the words 'goodbye' ..." "Then, why is your mother so depressed? According to our investigation, your mother is a very stubborn person, and I think it is unlikely that she is depressed..." "This...such a thing cannot be said to be absolutely non-existent..." "Maybe you accidentally revealed that you had agreed to go to Meihezi's apartment in advance. No! It may also be that you gave your mother such a hint, so your mother called Meihezi's apartment..." "hint……" "How is it? Didn't you hear what Miwako said about this situation?" Kubo asked with a rare flash of light in his eyes. "No...Actually, since then, I haven't calmed down to meet her, and I just want to call her today." "I have a question for you." Another young detective asked. "Ask, what's the question?" "Did you not answer your mother's call?" "Yeah! I didn't answer. I lied to my mother that I was going back to Sapporo. If I answered the phone, wouldn't that be self-inflicted?" "Then, how about the performance of Miwako Shirasaka's telephone?" "You mean performance?" "For example, when someone is on the phone and someone coughs a little farther away, can the other party hear the cough?" "This... Do you think that I was coughing and let my mother hear the coughing sound? I don't know. I don't remember that I have ever coughed." "If it's a phone with good performance, the voice of the other party can be heard from a little distance away. How about that?" "No! My mother's voice didn't reach me at the time. In that case, maybe the performance is not very good." "Ok……" The young detective was very satisfied and never asked any more questions. The questioning of the two criminal police did not make people feel that it was a homicide, so after all he felt that he was disturbing himself. However, the possibility of homicide is indeed not impossible. The estimated time of Fujino's death is from the afternoon of the 4th to the noon of the 6th.It is said that due to the late discovery of the body and the special situation of placing it in the bath, it has been difficult to determine a shorter time frame. However, Fujino called Miwako at around 5 pm on the 4th, so the time of death should be after that. Police believe that while Fujino was asleep on sleeping pills, someone might have entered the house, stripped her of her clothes, moved her to the bathroom and severed the vein in her left wrist.Or someone came to visit on the second or third day, and the visitor made Fujino take sleeping pills and killed her by the same method. However, in this case, no matter what, the visitor must be familiar with Fujino.Although the door of Fujino's apartment is not the kind that locks automatically, she has the habit of locking it when she is in the house. Therefore, to enter her room, she needs to unlock it. However, she occasionally forgot to lock it.At least, I have encountered such a situation three times. At least, the door was unlocked when the body was found.The housewife in the next room went to find her for some reason. She rang the doorbell several times but there was no movement, so she tried to turn the doorknob, but the door opened and the body was found. Based on the experience that people who commit suicide do not leave the door unlocked, most of the police thought it was a homicide at first, but after all, Fujino often forgets to lock the door, and after the "goodbye" phone call, most people tend to commit suicide conclusion. After the detectives left, they felt exhausted and lay down on the sofa. "Do you know the reason for our divorce?" After the blowfish sashimi arrived, Seisuke asked.Just when he was about to say the name of the suspicious person, he stopped talking when he saw the maid come in.At this moment, his question seemed to have forgotten what he wanted to say just now. "I remember that my father had a lover..." "Your mother said that to you? But it's not true. Do you know a man named Wang Chuanwu?" Seisuke picked up the thinly sliced ​​puffer fish from the basin, and watched Gesuichi's expression. "I know him. He was my tutor when I was in middle school. He was a student at Seongnam University..." Mifune Satoru also sent a New Year's card this year.After graduating from university, he worked in a newspaper office, and then resigned after a fight with his boss. Now he is editing a city chronicle in a city within the capital. "Didn't you discover the relationship between your mother and him?" "Relationship? What does that mean?" "The relationship between men and women!" Zheng Jie's words seemed to be catching wind and shadows. "Could it be..." "Isn't it? It's true! It's because I found out about something. When I questioned her, she asked for a divorce. Your mother is very strong. As long as she is caught once, she won't marry again. Live on." "I really didn't expect... I don't know anything about those things..." However, Tsuichi thought to himself that Mifune was indeed a good man, with a graceful figure like an athlete, and a resolute expression on his chiseled cheeks. "Your mother was thirty-four years old at the time, and she was in the prime of her life as a woman. I was traveling a lot, and now that I think about it, I can't just blame her... But, Mifune Satoru is still single, do you know why?" "..." Zhuiyi shook his head indifferently. "Last year, no! Now it's just passed the new year, so it's the year before last, in the midsummer, I saw him in the Noble Garden. He called me that time. He had already drank a lot. He asked me to sit down." I went to his table, I thought this guy gave me face, and I can't always worry about the past, so I sat at his table and toasted him a big glass of beer; so he sent a lot of Complaining, complaining that he is still single now, the main reason is that that person always causes him trouble. The "that person" he said refers to your mother... I asked carefully, and he even told me that they are still married every month. We met once or twice, and your mother told him that if he married another woman, she would rush to that woman and reveal all the past to her..." "Is this true? Could it be that he made it up..." After all said.He thought to himself that mother, in order to monopolize a man, might really do that; however, it is doubtful whether she can believe this. "If it's fabricated, he won't get any benefit, right? At least, I don't think it's fabricated." "Well... But, mother is forty-six years old!" "Age doesn't matter! Besides, doesn't she look younger than her actual age?" "Well. Looks at least three years younger..." "Anyway, I feel that Mifune Satoru's life is all messed up, and he seems to have very complicated thoughts about your mother. By the way! He also mentioned your matter! There will definitely be disturbances in Kazuichi-kun's marriage... ..." "Really? When he sent the New Year's card, it also said: I am the editor-in-chief of the city journal, and my work is very stressful..." "Of course you can't reveal your true feelings on the New Year's card, right? The suspicious person I mentioned just now refers to Mifune. When I read the report about the suspected murder in the "Tozai Shimbun", the first thing I thought of was Mifune. If he told me To tell the truth, he has enough motive to kill." Seisuke might have said that he was tired, he took a deep breath with his shoulders slumped. "That is to say, it is to liquidate evil fate?" "Well. You can make many guesses. For example, he has another woman he likes, and the other party also wants to marry him; but, if you want to get married, your mother's existence is an obstacle... Or, you want to save money from your mother But he was unable to pay back the money... There are many speculations about his motives, and I think they are all reasonable. At least, I think the police should investigate him." "Well... But, maybe for the police, we have to wait a while, and I have to think about it again..." Study one echoed and said. After all, I met Miwako on the 13th of the next day.When Zuoyi called her on Saturday night, she was not in a good mood, saying that she had also been visited by the criminal police, and the police questioned her repeatedly, so her head hurt. I guessed from the feeling on the phone that forcing a date with her might be very unpleasant, so I decided to meet her on Sunday. Goichi decides to go to Miwako's apartment.He invited Miwako to come to him, and she said bluntly, "I'm already keeping your house at arm's length!" She probably didn't want to use the bath where his mother died. As soon as the two met, Miwako complained to him, saying that he was very arrogant when the criminal police visited yesterday.It seems that her mood has not recovered. It seems that it was not Kubo who visited her, but other detectives.It is said that the wording is rude and rude, and she always takes a high-handed posture and looks down on Miwako. "It's really annoying! It's like saying, your mother was forced to death by me!" Miwako went skiing from the afternoon of the 5th to the morning of the 7th.Maybe it was the itchy skin on her face from the sun, she kept scratching the tip of her nose with her fingers. "However, there may be suspicion of homicide!" After all, he said something out of the blue. "He killed? Why?" Miwako's eyes widened. "I recalled it carefully and remembered that my mother was left-handed." He explained the reasons for the suicide cited by his father. "In that case, what does she mean by saying 'goodbye' on the phone? Didn't she say 'goodbye' because she was planning to commit suicide?" "My mother was probably in a trance by then, so maybe she didn't know what she meant. Couldn't she?" "despite this……" Miwako felt dissatisfied, and blurted out something that surprised Jiuda. "If it was a homicide, neither of us would be suspected, right? Because we were not at the scene!" "Not there?" After a while, he muttered consciously.The alibi had never occurred to him at all. "Is that true? Before the evening of the 4th, your mother was indeed still alive. From then on until noon on the 5th, the two of us stayed in this room. Moreover, I went to Ueno with Shunzi-kun. When she came to pick me up Just crossed with you. You go straight to Sapporo, and your name will be on the passenger register of the plane. I was with my friend, and of course she can prove that I was not there..." "It's true...First of all, we have no motive for killing!" "Really? But maybe the police don't think so. Yesterday the detective asked me a strange question." "Strange question?" "Ask me if I have heard you say anything bad about your mother... You said that you were calm when you saw the mother's body, and that the mother and the child depended on each other, but the son was very calm. It is very unusual. From this, they Maybe I'm suspicious of you?" "Those guys' speculations are all wrong!" "If they really think so, we will never provide them with any valuable clues!" Indeed, in the eyes of others, Zhuiyi may appear too calm.At the same time, no tears were shed, which even surprised Kazuichi himself.Why can't I shed tears? "Valuable clues? What do you mean?" Miwako asked. "My mother seems to have a lover. If my mother did die of homicide, that guy is the most suspicious." Even though Chuichi was unwilling to reveal his mother's secret, he finally revealed it.Maybe it was because he felt helpless. "Lover? A man?" "That's right! It's called Mifune Satoru. That man used to be my tutor." "nonsense!" Miwako stared at Geuichi's face with wide eyes. "I'm not talking nonsense. I heard that my father and mother divorced, and the reason is also on him. This is what my father told me the day before yesterday, and I didn't know anything before." Kazuichi briefly explained what he heard from Zhengsuke. "Then, you also know the man named Mifune." "I know. This year he also sent a New Year's card, which said that the job of editing the city chronicle is very interesting." "So, what are you going to do? Go see Mifune?" "I don't want to meet him right now. On the night of the 15th, I want to go back to Sapporo... I can call him from Sapporo to check on the situation..." "Do you know the phone number?" For some reason, Miwako showed a wandering gaze and asked. "There is an address on the New Year's card, I can call to check the number..." "yes……" Miwako stared into the distance, her eyes became deep. "What's wrong? What are you thinking?" Noticing Miwako's eyes, Keiichi asked. "Eh? Ah! I was wondering what kind of person that man was." Miwako smiled; but her smile seemed forced. Why did Miwako put on such a false smile then? It was late at night on the third day after returning to Sapporo that finally learned the secret. On that day, Zhuyi was taken to play mahjong by his colleagues in the branch, and he returned to his residence after 12 o'clock.There was no one in the room all day, and it was chilly in the room.Chuyi put on his robe, lit the stove, and was warming his hands there for a while, when the phone rang. "Hey! Why are you waiting so late!" He said in a joking tone.He thought it was Miwako calling.In the past, Miwako had called so many times at such a late hour. "Eh? Is it Juichi-kun?" Unexpectedly, the other party was a man. "Hey! I'm sorry. I'm Ju-..." Juyi hastily apologized. "I was shocked when I said on the phone that you waited so late! Are you really Zhu Yijun?" The other party seems to be no stranger to Zhu Yi. "Yes, who are you?" "I'm Mifune! Mifune. Has something happened to your mother?" "..." Stay silent.He didn't know how to answer, and he didn't know why Mifune called, so he felt a little apprehensive. "What's wrong with you?" Mifune said in a funny tone, "When you hear my name, you stop talking, are you angry with me? Hey! I can't help you if you are unhappy! ... But, you shouldn't Ignore me? I taught you English and math, and I can be your stepfather, so... yes! You can also be regarded as a brother." "What's your business?" Goichi took out a handkerchief from his pocket to protect the receiver.It was very cold in the room, so the phone receiver was cold in my hand. "Hey! I called to tell you that the murderer has been caught! It will be published in the morning paper tomorrow! I don't know if it will be published in the Hokkaido newspaper." "Murderer?" After all, he still couldn't understand what Mifune said. "Yes! It was the murderer who killed your mother! Moreover, I called 110 after catching the murderer. I was also interrogated by the police for several hours as a suspect, and I just returned to my home. Therefore, I think First of all, I should tell you that I made a long-distance call specially. I will be annoyed by your attitude towards me!" "You caught the murderer?" "Yeah! Guess who? It's someone you know very well." "Could it be my father..." Jiuyi blurted out with an intuition. "The father you mentioned, do you mean Okabe Seisuke-kun? You have misunderstood him! He is a very great gentleman. He didn't say a word of complaint to me, and he respected me for a beer. I said these words, Don't you understand? The murderer is a woman! She came to kill me today, using the same means as when she killed your mother. Let me take sleeping pills and turn on the gas valve when I fell asleep. From the beginning I felt her Behavior was weird, so I didn't even touch the can of beer she gave me, I just pretended to drink it. Of course, I pretended to be asleep afterwards, so when she turned on the gas cock, I suddenly woke up , So you came to me to do this kind of thing!" "That woman, is Miwako Shirasaka?" Chuichi's throat felt very thirsty.The temperature in the room had risen a lot, but he wasn't thirsty because the temperature in the room had risen. “嘿！你终于明白了？看来她是准备杀害我，然后伪装成杀害你母亲的凶手自杀的假像……当然，杀害我还有比这更重要的理由吧？” 三船神秘兮兮地说道。 究一脱去长袍，坐在椅子上。 “你说的话，我还不是很明白。按你说，是美和子杀害了我的母亲？” “是啊！因为你母亲的做法很下流啊！美和子想要杀她也很正常。” “但她是什么时候下手的呢？” 究一心想，美和子不可能有时间去现场。 “1月4日下午3点左右。就是说，在与你见面之前，她就已经将你母亲杀害了。” “那么，那个电话呢？” “你是说你母亲打过去的那个电话吧？那个诡计就是利用闹钟呀！在闹钟里可以设置出一个与电话铃声一模一样的声音。铃声和铃声之间的间隔也与电话铃声一样。先将闹钟设置好时间，然后将它放在电话机旁。时间一到闹钟的铃声便会响起来，不用心的人听着只以为是电话铃声在响。这时说'有电话'便中止闹钟的响声，然后取起电话的听筒。就是那样做啊！以后接电话时，就完全是一个人在演戏。倘若对着明明没有人接听的听筒说：'呀！是母亲，刚才……'只要看到这一情景，你就会以为她是在与你母亲通话……” "..." 究一咬着嘴唇。他既没有懊悔，也不是憎恨美和子。他强忍着一种冲动，倘若不咬紧着嘴唇，就会大声地叫喊起来。 “怎么？你又沉默了？嘿！算了吧！我一个人自说自话……她演那种把戏，有两个目的。第一，靠强调'再见'这句话，期望你得出母亲自杀的结论；而且，即便不能如愿，只要别人认为你母亲在那时还活着，她就能证明自己不在现场，所以……此后直到5日中午，她一直和你在一起，以后也与朋友一起行动。就是说，她完全不在现场。怎么样？你听着吗？” “我听着。”究一喘息说道，“但是，三船君，你刚才说，我母亲的做法也很下流，是我母亲瞒着我欺负美和子了？” 倘若果真如此，美和子为什么不告诉我？ —— 究一的脑海里浮现出这样的疑问。 “'欺负'还是小事呢！倘若被整到那种地步，当然会挟恨报复啊！但是，你母亲没有注意到这一点。” "Is it that serious?" “是啊！不过，我在其中也承担了很不光彩的角色啊！你母亲给我一百万元，只要我与美和子这个女人睡觉，成功的话另外再给我报酬。对我来说，这真是求之不得的事啊！而且，我向你母亲借过钱，我不能不听从她的。我经过调查，得知美和子每星期一两次去大井町朋友开的快餐厅里帮忙。这件事，你知道吗？” "I have no idea……" 究一只是回答了这么一句。 “是吗？你什么都不知道啊。好！言归正传吧！总之，我常去那里玩，不久便说服了美和子。我先给她十万元，要她无论如何容应我。她一句话也不说，只是点了点头。这件事我做得不好，因为你和我是兄弟呀！我与美和子，一共睡过六次吧，每次都给她十万元。听到我的报告，老婆子，不！你的母亲，就给她打电话，说：'听说你以每次十万元的价钱向一个叫王船的男人出卖自己的肉体，我请私家侦探调查这事是不是真的。现在侦探的报告已经送来了。'美和子矢口否认，说是搞错了。但是，你母亲恫吓她，说报告书里还有两人一起进旅馆的照片。实际上根本没有什么照片啊！但是，美和子受到你母亲如此的追逼，无路可退了！你母亲说，倘若美和子自己提出来与究一君分手，她就将报告书烧了，否则就让她公司里的人都知道她的丑事。美和子无奈，只好同意了。那是耶诞节的时候，她其实的确有一次想要与你分手，但是，据她自己向我招认，当时她突然想到还不如将你母亲杀了，于是便开始制订计画。4日那天，她去找你母亲，说带来了与你分手的保证书，于是你母亲让她进屋。她要求你母亲将报告书拿出来，与她的保证书交换。你母亲回答说报告书已经烧了，于是她放下心来，便决心作案。这事，是她自己向我坦白的。” "This……" 究一想说“母亲真坏”，但他感到嗓音嘶哑，说不出话来。 “作案大致成功了。她甚至根本没有犯罪的意识，因此，倘若你不向她提起我的名字，她压根儿就没有想到再要杀人；但是，你说认识一位元叫三船的男子，还暗示她你要从北海道打电话给我。倘若你打电话，我和她的事就会败露，因此她下决定无论如何必须杀掉我；而且，她已知道我和你母亲的关系，所以察觉出我是在你母亲的教唆下做的。即便想要杀我，也很正常啊！” "..." 究一默默地挂断了电话。他想对美和子大声喊道：“为什么不能再谨慎些？倘若再谨慎一些，也能将三船杀了！现在却……”这是究一最感苦闷的。