Chapter 23 apparition photos

The story begins with two visitors. Actually things happened before this.However, at least for Mimura himself, it is still appropriate to say that the story begins here.The same can be said for Mimura, who is a member of the editorial board of "Shamrock Weekly". Judging from the business cards, the two visitors were the inspector Hirata Ryosaku of the First Division of the Criminal Police Department of the N County Police Station, and Yoshino Ryuichi, the inspector of the N County Togawara Police Station. Hirata is around 40 years old and not tall.Yoshino is about the same age as him, making people feel that he is only about 30 years old.He was tall and well-built, with the dignified appearance of a police officer.

"Busy?" After letting the two of them into the reception room next to the editorial office, Mimura asked about his purpose, Hirata asked first. "Really? All in all, I feel as if I'm being chased by something. Now let's leave the matter at the beginning, you two are different from ordinary guests. Mr. Criminal Police is here to visit, so..." Mimura said this in a somewhat complaining tone.At the same time, it also reveals a kind of aggressiveness. In fact, he was a little uneasy about the arrival of the two of them.It's not that he already has a score in his mind, but it's always a bad feeling when the criminal police come to him when they have something to do.However, he started from the psychology of not wanting to show such emotions, so he deliberately spoke harshly to the two visitors.

"Really? If you are so busy, I have to ask you to go with us!" Hirata said slowly. "Together? Where are you going?" "If it's convenient, I'd like to invite you to the Shiheyuan Police Station." "Going to Shiheyuan? But..." Mimura panicked.He thought, their visit is to "arbitrarily take away" (people who are major suspects in criminal cases, the judicial police can take them to where they need them at any time if necessary), right?The place name of Shiheyuan kept spinning in his mind.He knew that this was a place in the south of N County, but he had never been there, so he had no special impression of this place name.

"Ah, if you're busy, you don't need to force you to come with us... Then, what are you going to do? Please talk about it." "Okay, of course." Mimura said so with a somewhat relieved look.But he has some regrets.At the beginning, the other party said that he was going to take him away, and he panicked. Later, when he was told that he was not forced to go with him, he wanted to ask the other party why—this is what he regretted. But he considered that the other party was a criminal policeman. Although he thought of asking, he didn't have the courage to oppose it after all.

"Does Mr. Mimura believe in such things as the mind?" "Mind? Do you mean the soul?" "Yes, it is said that you know this in detail." "No, not particularly detailed." Mimura still doesn't understand the opponent's intention.It is really an anecdote that the detective and the soul are pinched together. "Really? But in your weekly magazine, that is to say, in the magazine "Clover Weekly", there are more articles about this kind of content... To be honest, before visiting you, we read some outdated magazines in the county library. It's just a quarterly magazine, and even though it's so short, there are nearly ten articles on soul issues."

Hirata took out a "Police Handbook" from his pocket and flipped through it. "Let me tell you, okay? For example..." "Oh, you don't need to give an example." Mimura waved his hand with a wry smile.These contents, he himself is clear. "Are you the one who writes these kinds of articles?" "No, it's not me. If there's anything I need, may I get the writers of those kinds of articles?" "Ah, there's no need to look for him. Rather than that, Mr. Mimura might as well talk to us about whether you personally believe in apparitions or not."

"I don't believe it." Mimura concluded reflexively. "But in your magazine..." "It's a different matter. There are guys who write about soul articles in our editorial department. But I don't think even such a person believes in the immortality of souls." "How is this going?" The Chief Detective Hirata frowned deliberately. The young detective stared at Mimura expressionlessly. "Just to put it bluntly, this is the business policy of our magazine. You know, our magazine has young women as readers, right? But recently, young women are particularly interested in souls, divination, so-called irrational things, etc. interest. So we often publish articles on these kinds of issues."

"That's right. But there are too many articles of this kind. I just saw the story that happened in Hokkaido, and then I saw the example that happened in Kyushu. It's obvious. It's probably not all fiction, right?" "Well, how should I put it? There are still quite a few people with special experiences in society. This is not limited to some kind of supernatural phenomenon, but also experiences that cannot be explained in the scientific casserole... These people come to our editorial department Come and tell us. They think that, among the women's journals, The Clover Weekly is recognized as being especially zealous on such matters."

"So," Yoshino interjected for the first time, "You mean you don't believe it?" "Yes, I don't believe it at all." Mimura said firmly. At this moment, Hirata and Yoshino looked at each other, making one feel that they were signaling to each other. Suddenly, an indescribable uneasiness hit Mimura's heart.He wondered if he had made some extremely absurd mistake, and although there was no special basis for it, he still had such a feeling. "..." Yoshino quietly took out the "Police Handbook" and took out a photo inside. "what……"

When Mimura saw this photo, he couldn't help crying out. Because he remembers this photo very clearly. "Do you know this Yuan woman?" "Well, this is the woman who works in the nearby 'Futaba' liquor store. In the shop, her name is Yuko. As for her real name, I don't know her real name. She is 35 years old and married because her husband left her and ran away. , so she went to 'Futaba' to work..." Sancun preemptively told the things that had not been asked about him. Maybe it was because he still didn't know the real purpose of the police coming to him, which made Mimura's nerves a little stimulated.

"Her real name is also Tomoko, Odawara Tomoko, and it's true that she is 35 years old... It's just that she has a child who is just three years old this year." "Child? Yes... Ah, have you found her husband?" According to Tomoko, her husband was the chief sales officer of a small company. He recovered a debt of 400,000 yuan from a previous account and disappeared on his way home. "The company thought he had absconded with the money, but it's too inexplicable for a person who is nearly forty years old to run away and ruin his life just for such a small amount of money? Well, Mr. Mimura , what do you think?" It was a rainy night, there were no other customers in the store, and Tomoko sat beside Mimura drinking with him, when she was slightly drunk, she said something like this. Could it be that Yuko's husband was sued by the company, and the Shiheyuan Bureau arrested him within the jurisdiction? Mimura imagined this based on the tone of the two detectives. "Mr. Mimura, just now you asked if you found her husband, and you said it in a quite sure tone. Why are you so sure?" Perhaps due to psychological effects, Hirata's tone became severe. "Ah, I'm not sure, but I don't know anything else about the purpose of Mr. Detective's visit." "So, where do you think her husband has gone?" It was Yoshino who asked this time, speaking with a local accent. "I don't know about this, because the N County Police Station is here, I think it's under the jurisdiction of N County..." As soon as Mimura finished speaking, he stopped. Although he was a criminal police officer of the county police station, Hirata was in the first investigation department. Any county police station is the same. The first department is in charge of murder, robbery and crimes involving personal life. Yes, Mimura thought, for the criminals embezzling property, according to the situation that N found, maybe the first section should be responsible for the investigation. "The question is where the picture was taken." Hirata stared intently at Mimura and said this. In the photo, Tomoko is standing next to a birch tree, smiling, with one hand resting on the trunk. "Could it be..." Mimura became short of breath because he remembered what he said to Yuko a few days ago. "It is said that you told Tomoko Odawara to dig this place." "..." Sancun nodded silently, his mind was so confused that he couldn't speak. "And you also predicted that the body must be buried there. That's what she said. Is there such a thing?" "indeed……" Mimura endured dry mouth, and replied: "I did say that, but I am a good joker. I don't know anything about the dead body. Maybe you don't believe it, but the truth is like this. It is precisely because of this that I said that." joke." During the conversation, Mimura suddenly had an idea. He thought: People's thinking sometimes acts and changes in extremely absurd forms regardless of time and environment. This is the case in his own situation. Mimura felt that what the policeman said might be a joke; and the two people who claimed to be policemen from County N might actually be fake... Otherwise, the conversation would be too bizarre, and the accidental consistency cannot be said to be absent. , yet in the here and now, the words of accidental consistency hardly fit the bill... "Are you kidding? Please explain this question carefully. Also, what is going on when you call it a 'photograph of apparition'?" "In a word, it's just talking nonsense after drinking. As for this photo..." Mimura picked up the photo on the table, pointed to it and said, "Look, beside this birch trunk, you can see a human face, right? She pointed the photo to me and asked me: What is this? I said, it really looked like her missing husband’s face, so I said, ah, I thought maybe it was the light, maybe there was something wrong with the plate, and when the alcohol came up, on a whim, I said, ah, maybe this is a photo of a ghost Ah, that’s not the case, she was the one who first mentioned the apparition photos, before, she said that she had read articles about apparition photos in our magazine, she asked me if there was actually anything, so I replied: Of course, I also briefly explained the apparition phenomenon I heard, and after I said so, she said that there are indeed such photos, so she took this photo out of her arms, and I think the sequence of things is like this." "That's right, so you told her: The fact that your husband's face is shown in the photo means that his body is buried somewhere in the picture... You also said, if you don't believe me, you can dig it, and you will be able to find it." Bring out the corpse..." Hirata asked him closely, and he stared intently at Mimura, making Mimura even feel terrible. It was about a week ago, and the work was dragged into the night. After nine o’clock, Mimura came to Futaba. He ate dinner a little late today. , when he sat in front of the "Futaba" counter, he was already a little drunk. He takes sashimi slices as an appetizer, makes his own whiskey with water, and drinks it himself. He keeps whiskey in the "Futaba". Maybe it was due to fatigue, but before he finished eating the sashimi, he was getting drunk, when someone knocked on his back, it turned out to be Tomoko. "Oh, you've come a long time ago? I was wondering just now, can I come here today?" Accompanied by the clear and sweet voice, Tomoko spoke coquettishly, and sat down on the chair beside him. Although there were other guests, they all brought their female companions, so there was probably no need for Tomoko to take care of them. "It's already here, unexpected, isn't it? Where have you been?" Mimura said in a very impatient tone on purpose. In "Futaba", in addition to the proprietress who is called mother, there are two female helpers. The wine booth is of course the main one, but there is also a single room with straw mats at the back. Their job is to serve food here, but When there are not many guests, when there are free seats, they can sit down, pour wine for the guests, or chat with the guests. For these two women, Mimura was interested in Tomoko. Although he was interested, it was not to the extent that he came to "Futaba" just because of her. Even so, every time Mimura came to "Futaba", he used to scan the store, looking for Yuko, and if he met Yuko's eyes, he nodded lightly and said hello. Once finished, he would come to Sancun's side, making innocuous jokes while pouring wine for him... That night, Mimura looked for Yuko after entering the store as usual, but he couldn't find her, so Mimura went to the counter without saying a word and ordered food... "Ah, I'm sorry, I just saw off the guests. I was looking forward to Mr. Mimura's arrival. It's true. I have something to ask you for advice. Can I do it now?" Tomoko looked at Mimura with an unusually serious expression and said. "Well, what's the matter?" "That's it, I wonder if this is the kind of apparition photo..." Tomoko took out a photo from his pocket. "Apparition photos?" "Yes, there were articles like that in the Clover Weekly, with dead faces in photographs." "Is this the one? Ah, it's exactly the same as the clown in the mime!" Tomoko usually only wears a kimono in Futaba, but this time she is standing in a suit in the middle of the birch forest, which looks quite charming. "You say you look like a clown, but that's because the two thighs are shown by your close friend. Here, take a look here." Tomoko stretched out her little finger and pointed to a place in the photo. Facing the photo, on the upper left side of Tomoko, that is to say, there is something like a human face at the extension of Tomoko's right hand on the birch trunk. "Really, unlike the shadows of branches and leaves, it seems to be looking down on Ah You. When was this photo taken?" "Last Sunday, strange, isn't it?" Mimura feels that this is not like being in Tokyo. Since there are such photos, there will be people who took them. It can be seen where she went on vacation... What Mimura is concerned about is not the face-like thing that appears on the screen, but this problem. So, he was going to make a joke with Tomoko. "Haha, the person who took this photo must be a man?" Saying this, Mimura observed Tomoko's reaction. "Eh? Why?" Tomoko immediately denied it, but her slightly flustered eyes made people feel that she was in a panic instead. "To be honest, according to my judgment, your husband must have encountered difficulties that he couldn't get rid of, and he is hiding somewhere, but he misses his wife very much, especially his wife is a beauty, and she is just at a good age. Although you are now You are not a frivolous person, but the person who took the photo likes you..." "..." Tomoko didn't smile at Mimura's unsophisticated joke, but nodded rather moved. "So..." Mimura felt that Tomoko's attitude was unbelievable, and he continued: "...his thoughts were concentrated on one point, and he appeared in this image in the photo. How about it, is it a man who took the photo? So, on this day, Ayou I fell in love with that old man, I guessed right?" Naturally, this is a casual statement, but it contains a lot of jealousy. He knows that Yuko is a married woman, and he has never been too close to her. Looking at this photo, he can't help but regret it. It's better not to think too much about her. up. "Hey……" Tomoko touched Mimura with his knee, and said hoarsely, "Those words are true? It doesn't mean that there is something like what you said, right?" "Of course, don't our magazines often publish such articles? Although some people say it's unscientific, it's just because the current science has not yet developed to that level. The human mind..." "Mr. Mimura." Tomoko interrupted Mimura, and moved closer to Mimura, the scent of perfume stimulated Mimura's nostrils, "Here, look at this photo, this is my missing husband." Tomoko took out another photo from her pocket. "She said, in the photo in question, that thing that looks like a human face doesn't look like my husband's face, does it?" Mimura recalled the scene at that time and explained to the criminal police. "..." Without saying a word, Hirata and Yoshino just nodded silently, as if urging him to continue. "After what she said, the two faces are indeed very similar. I really feel that they are somewhat similar to the photo of the apparition. Because the photo is a side face, it is hard to say it is very accurate, but the hairstyle is exactly the same. Secondly, the area around the lips Also... If you don't hold any prejudices, most people will admit that the two faces belong to the same person." This is not an exaggeration. That night, when Tomoko showed him the photo of the missing husband, Mimura couldn't help being surprised, ah, this... "Later, you persuaded her to dig there?" Hirata was anxious to find out the truth, so he asked this question. "Yes, as the topic progressed, it gradually came to that aspect." Can the detectives understand what he said? Mimura felt uneasy during the conversation. After showing him the two photos, Tomoko said: "Actually, I have also thought about the issue Mr. Mimura just talked about." She spoke in a tone as if she was about to confess something important. "What am I talking about?" "Yes, how can I put it, it's as if my husband is spying on me with his psychic powers... When I saw this picture, I thought about it, because the face in the picture is very similar to my husband , and there is one more thing that made me guess..." "Things you guessed? Are there other strange phenomena besides this?" Mimura continued to ask her while using chopsticks to open up the fried fish that Tim had brought. "Yes, it's a bit embarrassing to say, but let me say it. This photo, as Mr. Mimura said just now, was indeed taken by a man. His name, please forgive me, I won't say it. He is a customer in the store. , I guess you know him too, he is also a man with a wife." "That is to say, it's a picture of you and that person taken on a tryst trip." Maybe I'll be very drunk tonight... Mimura asked while thinking about it. "Did you say that this is a tryst trip... Ah, it's just that he invited me for a ride. Of course, no one is a child anymore. Anyway, I have thought about it. It depends on the situation. If the other party asks you to do it, then do it. So, when I didn't make a fuss when he pulled the car into the motel, but as soon as we got into the room and it was just the two of us, it started..." "Start when there are only two people left? Does it mean that you didn't even take a shower..." At this time, the alcohol concentration in Mimura's blood seemed to be quite high, and he asked her deliberately mischievously. "It's annoying, it's not like that, I happen to be that." "Which one?" "Still understand? Although you are a man, Mr. Mimura, aren't you a reporter for Women's Weekly? It's 10 days earlier than the original date." "Haha, that's how it is..." Mimura suddenly realized: "Well, so it can't be done?" "Yeah, even though he said it's okay, I still don't want to... But I never missed it. Just that time, it was ten days ahead of time... I thought it was weird, but then I thought of this This photo is really scary, it seems that my husband used his spiritual power to prevent my improper behavior..." "Yeah, maybe that's the case. He used his mental power. When you took pictures, he looked at you. He was still worried, so he made your physical phenomenon advance. Well, this is possible. Then, At the end of the day, didn't you share the bed with him?" "Indeed, I don't want to do that kind of thing with a new man at that time... I really asked for trouble. To be honest, I also waited for my husband for a few days. Since he disappeared, I Always remain chaste to him..." "However, it's been a long time since you came back from the drive. Didn't you meet again in the future?" "Uh, although I made an appointment with him next time, but at this time he brought this photo, and when I thought that maybe my husband was glaring at me angrily, I lost my interest. Therefore, I would like to ask Mimura-san clearly, are there really such things as spiritual power and telepathy?" "How many negatives did you take?" "Twenty pictures were taken, this is the 12th." "What about the other ones? The other ones are also people in the film, right?" "Yeah, but those 19 photos didn't capture this weird thing." "So, the question is why your husband's headshot only appeared in this photo. Can you recall anything?" Tomoko shook his head. "This is a little strange. If spiritual power is transmitted from afar, this same portrait must be reflected in all the photos. If it only appears in this one, then..." Mimura didn't believe in the so-called spiritual power at all, but because of the alcohol at the time, and hearing the confession of Yuko's frivolous behavior and going for a ride with others, he became reckless, so he seemed to lose his mind and started talking nonsense . "Huh? What's going on here?" Yuko asked worriedly. "From my point of view, Ah You's husband may have died, and his body is buried somewhere in this photo. His soul wanted to express his heart, so he appeared in this photo in this form. If he is still alive and transmits spiritual power, he can appear in the same form when he is traveling for a ride, or in other photos. Only in this photo, what is its significance? I still have to think about it Necessary." "real……" Thinking about it later, this was really nonsense, and even he himself was taken aback.Perhaps because of the fantastic logic, Tomoko didn't seem to want to refute, but just nodded mysteriously. "Well, perhaps it would be better to dig around here. If nothing is found, there is nothing to lose; and if a body is really buried, he must be given a dignified burial as soon as possible." While listening to Mimura's speech, Tomoko's face gradually turned pale. Faced with this situation, Mimura felt a happy atmosphere in his heart... Detective Hirata told Sancun how the body was found in Shiheyuan Street, N County, after he had finished explaining the whole situation. At about ten o'clock last night, someone reported to the Shiheyuan Bureau that a body was found in the state-owned forest area near the street. The body was buried in the soil. Judging from this situation, it was obviously a murder case. Someone immediately reported the case to the county police station, and the chief immediately brought personnel to the scene. There were already four people at the scene waiting for the arrival of police officers. According to their self-introductions, one is Masao Shimamoto (49 years old) who runs a sewer engineering company in the S District of Tokyo; the other is Tomoko Odawara (35 years old) who works in a restaurant; Workers, these two young men claimed to have been brought here on the orders of the manager. They came in a medium-sized van of Daoyuan Company, and the two employees were still wearing work clothes. The four were isolated separately, and the police officers in charge listened to the situation separately. "First of all, let me tell you about the situation of these two young people. They said that the manager only told them that the special allowance was given to them purely on order. They didn't know that this was land owned by the county. The manager pointed to the birch tree. They were ordered to dig a place with a radius of about five meters around the tree, and they did what the manager said. They run the car's engine and dig in the dirt by the light of their headlights. It is said that construction started at 8:30 pm, and the body was found at 9:15. Once the body was found, even Shimamoto himself was taken aback, but it didn't seem to be completely unexpected. He immediately stopped work and sent an employee to the police station to report. The call reported to the police. After Shimamoto sent his workers away, he also seemed to be really frightened. He once thought that although he spent so much energy digging, there would actually be no dead bodies. But when asked about the purpose of his digging, he replied: , "I thought about it, and the body might be found. In short, the preamble doesn't make sense." "But isn't that strange?" Mimura asked, "He started working at night, right? This means that he was afraid of being seen by others, and at the same time, doesn't it also prove that he started the work after he expected the body to be found?" "No, according to his excuse, he didn't expect to find the corpse before he started doing it, because there is a forest area in the county. If you enter the forest area without authorization to do such things, once the locals find out, you will be reprimanded and punished. I felt embarrassed, so I decided to do it at night when there were no traffic, this is his explanation." "Is it a place with a lot of pedestrians and vehicles in broad daylight?" "There is a small hot spring not far ahead. The county road leads directly to it. There are many vehicles coming for a ride. Also, young men and women who are hiking also pass by the place." "According to this, the body was buried not far from the road?" "No, the place where the body was found can be 50 meters away from the road. There is a forest passage in this direction. They drove the car into the passage and used the lights to illuminate the work." Hirata tore out a page from the police manual and drew a sketch on it. "But even if he's telling the truth, what motive does he have for doing this kind of work? Even though it's a small and medium-sized business, as a manager..." "Shimamoto was entrusted by Odawara Tomoko. It is said that she has been thinking about her husband very much, holding fantasies, and asked to dig. This was done at the request of Odawara Tomoko, because the photo in question was a It was taken by Shimamoto. Therefore, Shimamoto himself felt very strange that the face of Tomoko’s husband appeared in the photo. In order to find a clear answer for himself, he had to dig there to find out if there was any The corpse... the gist of what he said was this." "Haha, is he the man who took the photo?" Mimura sneered, and it is appropriate to say that this kind of sneer came naturally. Although Tomoko asked Mimura so enthusiastically, he finally asked the man named Shimamoto, for which Mimura regretted deeply. Of course, if Tomoko asks Mimura to help dig, Mimura may not agree rashly. In this sense, Mimura is not a trustworthy person, and Tomoko must be aware of this. "On the other hand, according to Tomoko Odawara, she was inspired by Mr. Mimura. She said: Mr. Mimura is a man who has researched on soul issues. This Mr. Mimura said: 'My husband's body is buried here, so I want to find out the truth no matter what, and dig it out. If there is no one, it will be over, but I refuse to even dig it. Maybe it is really buried there. I feel restless when I think of it. The reasons she said, It’s not incomprehensible. Is what she said true? Secondly, why did you talk to her about these things? We came to ask you for advice just to clarify these issues.’” "So……" Yoshino followed Hirata's words, and said as if asking further: "What you said just now is all the truth, right? I'm going to ask you to write a written material soon, and it will be troublesome to correct it at that time..." "Uh, it's all the facts. I'm stating the facts." Mimura said decisively, staring at Yoshino. "Clover Weekly" is going to officially report on this "apparition photo incident". It was a weekly magazine that liked to publish so-called apparitions, and it was only natural that a person in the editorial department was involved in the case. It was decided that for this manuscript, two young journalists would be responsible for collecting the original materials, and then Mimura would sort them out and write them into an article. The editorial department of some women's weekly magazines adopts this method: the editorial department members do not write articles, and the materials collected by reporters are handed over to writers outside the agency to write, but the system for editorial department members to write manuscripts is stipulated. for the sake. The reporters assigned to Mimura are Yoshiyama and Hara, both young reporters who have graduated from university for only two or three years. Among them, the person surnamed Yuan is very interested in supernatural phenomena such as souls and spiritual power. In the past, anyone who interviewed souls Most of the manuscripts related to the relationship are undertaken by the original. Mimura sent Yuan to visit a soul scientist and a soul researcher, asking him to ask for his opinion on this incident. As for Jishan, in the past, he mainly dealt with case reports. He was tall and well-groomed, and he was a 2nd dan in judo. Draft, he is very sure. It was decided to send Jishan to N County to interview the progress of the county police station in solving the case. Then, Mimura met with Shimamoto, who worked hard during the excavation of the body, and questioned him in detail. As soon as he saw Shimamoto, Mimura remembered that it was him, because he had met this person in "Futaba". He sometimes brought his young companions, mostly sitting at one end of the counter with his back against the wall, drinking Japanese sake from a cup alone. Speaking of it, I still remember that he often made a few innocuous jokes with Tomoko, which gave the impression that he was courting Tomoko in the midst of the jokes, right? "Ah, you are Mr. Weekly Magazine, aren't you?" Shimamoto also seemed to remember Mimura, and received him with a smile on his face. "I'm so unlucky, to be honest, I wondered if the body would ever be dug up? And, as you say, it was her husband. To tell the truth, I've thought, maybe You are a murderer." "It must have been a shock, then, when she saw the body, did she immediately recognize it as her missing husband?" Mimura started to ask what he thought was the most questionable question. After the two policemen left, Mimura noticed this problem, and it became one of the topics on the editorial board. Because, it is doubtful: According to newspaper reports, the body has been buried for three or four months, and part of it has been turned into bones. If this is the case, it will not be possible to identify the face. Then, on what basis can she determine that it is her husband's body? Is there such a situation?Although the dead body was actually someone else, Yuko assumed it was her husband since she remembered Mimura's conversation. "The things she was wearing, especially the belt, the tie pins, hadn't spoiled at all, and as soon as she saw them, she said, ah, this is my husband's stuff, and her application to solve the case mentioned this problem, and it also didn't match the actual situation. It matches, by the way, blood type A, which is also consistent with the application for solving the case." Shimamoto's personality seems to be very talkative, and he never tires of Mimura's inquiries, and even said that he was quite interested in some questions. "But what about that photograph? What do you think?" "Well, I also feel baffled and can't figure it out. Is there such a thing as a supernatural phenomenon? When I first showed me that photo, I thought it was an excuse to reject me, and it was a trick. But there's that ghost on the film too..." "Why, did you still see the negative?" Sancun immediately asked. "Yes, when I went to 'Futaba', she asked me to look at the photo, and said that the figure resembled her husband. I smiled and said: Probably something went wrong when printing the film, and she immediately took it Show me the negatives, generally speaking, if this happens, the possibility of double exposure should be considered, but her camera has a device to prevent double exposure, so this idea was ruled out." "So that's the case, did you take it with her camera?" "Yes... I was going to go out for a while that day, and I told my wife that I was on a business trip to discuss business, so I couldn't use my camera." "why?" "If I go out with a camera, my woman will say in the future, show me what photos I took, and it will be troublesome. Of course, I can say that it is a business photo, and there is no need to show it to you. It’s fine to block her back like this. , but at this time it is very likely to show your feet... Therefore, it is smarter not to bring anything that will cause trouble at all." At this point, Dao Yuan smiled brightly and cheerfully, sounding like henpecked. "So the film was pre-loaded in the camera?" To be cautious, Mimura asked again. "Ah, there is no film in it, so she stopped halfway, and she went down to buy it by herself. After buying it, she sat on the driver's assistant's seat and loaded the film." Of course, the police have also asked about these plots, so Shimamoto can talk about it without thinking. "But……" Mimura continued to ask: "You seem to have mentioned some 'excuse for rejecting me' just now, I still don't quite understand what it means." "Ah, that thing." Shimamoto rubbed his chin, looking a little embarrassed.He smiled and said: "I'd make a fool of myself if you were to put it in an article. Once these private details are revealed and published in the women's magazines, my wife might read about it in the beauty parlor." "Ah, on this point, please trust our conscience? Besides, we will not use Mr. Shimamoto's real name, we don't want to cause you any trouble." "It's embarrassing, well, let's just talk about one of my ugly things. But although I don't care, what should I say about her..." "Since Ayou is hanging out with you, it seems that she already has that intention. That's why she said that she didn't refuse when you brought her into the hotel." “什么……她把这种事都跟您说啦？可是当时不行啦。她说，突然不大舒服，我说那也不要紧嘛，她说她讨厌，就拒绝了。她要求另外找合适的机会。既然把话说到这种程度，我自然无话可说，回来不久，我就说，慢慢给我找个机会，行吧？” "..." 三村沉默不语，他知道向一个女人求爱，不勉强她难道就不行么。 “于是，她给我看了那张照片，说这里拍上了她丈夫的面孔，觉得很不是滋味儿。她说，怎么会出现这种情况呢，在弄清真相之前，她没有这番心思了。” “哈哈，所以，您就以为她作为拒绝你的藉口在耍花招了。” 三村用稍微轻松的口气这样说。从岛元的表情来看，友子和岛元好象还没有发生过特殊的关系。 “是的，然而两三天以后，她往公司给我打来电话，谈了个奇奇怪怪的问题。她说，曾问过对显灵照片等等有研究的人，说是在拍照的地方埋着她丈夫的尸体。因此能不能再和她一起到那里去一趟，弄个一清二楚……事后得知，所谓对显灵照片有所研究的人，就是您三村先生吧？” 岛元多少带有埋怨的语气这样说。但好象还不是气愤的样子，因为在他的眼中表现出笑意。 “啊，我并不精通此道。当时，我略有醉意，信口胡诌罢了。根本没有想到真会有人挖一挖看。” “多亏您，才发现了死者的尸体，结果不是很好吗？如果永远埋在那个地方，他就不能升天了。” “要是那么说，可真也的确如此，但……” 三村对岛元的话不能赞同，尽管还说不出分歧何在，什么问题上有分歧，但是总感到有隔阂。 “实际上，我也半信半疑。那种话实在无聊透顶。” “对，就是这样。尽管如此，毕竟动手干了。而且，那个地段属于县有林区，可以想像，随便挖掘，可能会遇到许多麻烦。在这一点上，我对岛元先生的果断，深为佩服。” “啊，这可谈不上什么果断，怎么说好呢，也就是出于偶然的想法吧，因为她曾经发誓说：如果挖不出什么来，一定照我说的办。听她这么一说，我就想，既然如此，那就……说起来也许您以为我老不正经，我对友子热恋地着了迷呀。” “原来这样，你把话跟她说过吗？” 三村歪着脑袋沉思着。因为他觉得友子很值得怀疑了。 很可能友子根本没打算跟岛元要好。也就是说，她早就知道在那里一挖就能挖出尸体来。 "But……" 岛元长叹一声说：“说真的，哪有什么显灵照片一类东西呀。即使尸体摆在眼前，我还是不能相信。” “话有说回来，那张成问题的照片，究竟是经过什么过程在白桦树那个地方拍的呢？” 三村对此早就疑团重重了。 在广阔的N县所属的那片树林里，拍了一张女人的照片，如果呢，就在那地方的附近挖出了她丈夫的尸体。这无论怎样分析，也未免过于偶然了。如果从概然率的角度观察，不过几亿分之一，甚至属于零。 “我们开车游逛的时候，她说要解手。我说，是不是忍耐一下，等碰到汽车餐厅或加油站时停下来。她说憋不住了，叫我停车，要去树林里小便。啊，我想季节的关系，估计没人看见，于是就答应了她，把车停了下来，她走进了森林。我也从汽车里下来，伸了伸腰。这时，她招呼我。我走过去一看，只见在白桦的树干上有刻的字。” “刻的字？” “是的，可能是年轻的情侣刻的。就是常见的那样，情侣们把两人的名字写在一起的方法。上面刻着：正夫、友子。友子，是用正楷字母刻的。” 说到这里，岛元难堪地摸了摸前额说：“您知道，所谓正夫，就是我的名字，于是她就说，拍张照片留个纪念吧，说着就把相机递给了我。” “请稍等一下，那么说，在这之前相机是在她手上吗？” “是的，我开着车，相机本来又是她的。” “她不是解手去了吗？带着相机去的？” 三村思忖道，这种行动可有点反常。 “啊，这个事儿呀，她说要不带走，担心我拍她小便时的姿态。她说，'经理先生是个色鬼，为了预防万一，我可得带走。'于是把相机挎在肩上扬长而去。” “……”三村歪头沉思起来。友子的行动有许多可疑之处…… 根据负责采访心灵研究工作者的姓原的记者报告，这些人对这次事件的反应，大致可以分为两种倾向。 一种人认为，这是显灵现象的最高表现而给予积极的评价。友子想在那里拍照，是由于她丈夫清一郎的灵魂在向她呼救的缘故。 “当然，她本人对此并没有注意。她那样下意识的行动，实际上是灵魂在引导她。类似这种情况，在人世上恐怕还是大量存在的。我们经常说的因缘问题，其中大多数情况与这一事件雷同，那不就是被冥冥世界的一根线牵引着吗？这并不是非科学的想法，只有重视这一点，那就是只须承认心灵的存在，其他一切自然极其合乎逻辑地获得结论。当然也想听听所谓合理主义者的意见，看看他们对这次事件有什么看法。二十世纪的合理主义者肯定不能解释这种现象吧。” 最富有战斗性的心灵研究家们如此自豪地说：这次的事例，应该是向世界学灵会提出的报告中的一个补充。 另一方面，在同样的心灵研究家当中，有人仿佛表示困惑不解。 特别是对于主张和冥冥世界发生交往必然需要灵媒的人来说，他们对这次的现象认为是不足为奇的事实。 还有，据说拍过若干显灵照片的摄影家们对这次事件也没有积极地发表评论。“啊，我没有看到过实物，也不是说那张照片不是显灵的照片。在那里一挖就能够发现尸体，把这个解释为灵魂的喊冤叫屈在照片上的反应，这种解释，当然是可以的。大概就是这样吧。所谓显灵的照片，是对我们有所陈述的灵魂，通过胶卷感光而显示出来的。而这回灵魂的陈述是请赶快把尸体挖出来。我最担心的是因为这样一来会使许多人发生误解，那就不好了。一般说的灵魂的陈述，并不是像这次的样子，单纯要求挖尸而已，而是表现在许多方面。是这样吧？因为是有许多问题还没法解决的人的灵魂嘛。各人不同，他们的陈述自然也因人而异，这里还有分析显灵照片的困难之处。对于这些问题一概弄错，一看见显灵照片，马上就挖挖附近一带，这么干实在糟糕透了。假如从那里挖不出尸体，就说因为看不见尸体而否认是显灵的照片，像这样思路短浅、视野狭隘的人也许会有的饿，我是恨这种人的。日本人真是性子急啊。” 这位摄影家担心他拍的照片会被说成伪造的——这是原加以解释的原话。 “那么您是怎么想的呢？” 三村问原。“迄今为止，你对有关所谓显灵现象曾采访多次，内容是够详细的吧？这次的情况怎么样呢？” “我觉得可疑。”原在等候询问似的果断地说。 “可疑？什么地方？” “我的分工是采访显灵现象的消息，我本来是不相信这些的。这一点如果误解可就麻烦了。尽管如此，直到目前为止，我在采访过程中，事实上遇到了许多按普通常识无法解释的奇怪现象。但是，和我所遇到的现象比较起来，我觉得这次的事例就过于眉目清晰了。解释起来头头是道，反而让人觉得不可思议。” “是么？很清楚了吗？” 三村对原的话不太理解它的意思。 他说：“显灵的照片上确实存在着像人脸一样的东西。但是，一般说来，这类东西都是需要人家提醒之后才能看得出是一副人脸。这次却非常清晰，而且是与某个特定人物酷似。尤其在拍照的地方一挖，这个特定人物的尸体就出现了。总而言之，太玄虚了。换句话说，显而易见使人感到有人为的迹象。因此，我才认为太奇妙了。” “是这样，有人为的迹象。” 这句话，三村也完全深有同感。 的确，指出这一点是正确的。而且，这人为的迹象，从岛元拍摄那张照片的整个过程来看，不就很能说明问题了吗？ 友子在兜风的途中急于解手，为了解手而进了树林，于是发现了刻在白桦树干上的字……从一桩桩一件件看来，好象一切都很合乎情理似的。 然而，在一切都很合乎情理这一点上，反而使人有不自然的感觉。这样一来，便令人怀疑到这是经过人为制造的了。 那么，人为的角色是谁呢？也许还是友子吧？ 据吉山去N县警察局采访的结果来看，县警察局内部，对友子持怀疑态度的人似乎很多。 总之，情节过于离奇，因而使人感到这好象是出于友子的安排了。 "but……" 吉山接着详细地说下去。“连他们都不以为是友子单独犯罪。因为一个女人做不了那样的案子。首先，尸体解剖的结果证明，被害人似乎是被垒球棒击破头盖骨，以至脑出血而死去的。还有，她不能开车，于是，把尸体运到树林之中就成了问题。县警察局认为，行凶现场不在那里。这样，作案不就必须要别人配合吗？这个人需要有相当力气，而且还能驾驶汽车。” “那么说，是岛元么？” 三村试探地说道。但是在三村的印象中，他并不认为岛元会干出这种勾当。无论从哪方面观察，岛元都像是个好人。 “县警察局一开始也认为是两人共同犯罪。可是，如果那样，根本就没必要故意地耍什么发现尸体的花招。只消再过一段时间，尸体就会变成一堆白骨，衣服也腐烂得难以辨认。那么，尸体身份不明了，友子也就不会成为侦察的对象了。现在把事情嚷嚷出来，不论怎么看，都是非常愚蠢的。” “可是，衣服烂光了，腰带和领带别针不是还照样子在吗？” “呃，要是那样，破案申请书上不写明就对她最合适了。或写上另一种腰带和另一种领带别针，等找到已成白骨的尸体，也就无从断定是她丈夫了。假如从这一点考虑，把友子看作凶手就显得有些牵强了。” “说不定她是深知内情的。” 三村这么说。他想，不对，这也实在太牵强附会。因为，只要她不作任何表示，默不做声，她就一定会平安无事。冒风险去挖掘尸体，这些都是不可想像的…… “其次，和岛元共同犯罪的说法也站不住脚。因为她与岛元相识是在她到'双叶'上工以后吧？也就是说，在她丈夫失踪之后，或者说，在她丈夫遇害之后。可见，凶杀案发生时，他们两人还素不相识呢……” “然而真是这样吗？他们如果原先已在某处认识了，而假装'双叶'初次交往，这是谁都能表演出来的吧？” “啊，这倒是。不过，岛元谋害小田原清一郎的话，他本人也毫无所得啊。他对友子确实非常迷恋，但是并没有打算破坏她的家庭，只是一起玩玩的关系而已。况且，县警察局的人也认为，他不像是为了女人而杀人害命的人。发现尸体时，对岛元进行了相当严厉的审讯，供词无矛盾，大家都说，岛元大概是无罪的。” 友子来到三村的杂志社，说是要回九州的娘家，前来辞行。 三村把她领到会客室，和吉山一同会见了她。吉山必须重新问问她的问题。 “是什么问题呀？” 三村把吉山介绍给友子，并说明吉山的意图后，友子显得和年拘谨，凝视着吉山的面孔。 “去世的小田原先生有一笔很大的人寿保险金吧？” 吉山没说什么客套话，马上进入本题。 “恩？保险金吗？”友子的眼神明显地忐忑不安起来。 “对，多少？” “这事……保险金并不是……” “没有必要隐瞒了，员警方面已经得到了情报……” “并不打算隐瞒，况且，最多也不过三千万元，而且我还没有办理手续。” “不错，只有三千万元。虽说金钱的价值并不大，动动脑筋谋害一条人命，就可以拿到三千万元也许还是合算的。” 吉山用膝盖碰碰三村，打了个招呼之后这么说，意思是暗示他不要多嘴。 然而三村没有领会吉山的意图。因为吉山说过：杀人并非一个女人力能所及的。三村暗想：怎么，发现可以另作判断的因素了吗？ “说得真怪，照您这么说，简直就是我杀了我丈夫。” “我并没有那么讲，而杀人的也不是您。” 吉山也许胸有成竹，他坦然地这么说。 “可是照您这么说……” “谋害人命的，是名叫小田原清一郎的家伙，目的是为了领三千万元钱。” "what?" 尽管吉山刚才暗示给三村，但他还是不由自主地喊了起来。 “总而言之，尸体不是小田原清一郎。尸体和破案申请上写的特征一致，妻子又证实了他的身份，因此，员警曾盲目相信了这一切。就是说，在提交破案申请书的阶段，你们夫妻商量好了另一个人的特征。” “照这么说，尸体是另外的人啦？可是这又为的是什么呢？” 三村一边询问，一边观察友子的表情。她好象为了掩饰自己的狼狈，故意紧闭着嘴唇。 “目的是领取人寿保险金，三千万元，打算把它领出来，这不是什么奇怪的。但是，要想达到这个目的，必须本人死了才行。于是就搞了个阴谋诡计，找一个合适的人把他杀掉，让人们认定小田原清一郎已经死了。” “吉山先生！” 友子声音嘶哑地叫了一声：“你没有提出任何证据就这样信口乱说，我要告你诽谤罪！” “好吧。我可是有证据的。” "evidence?" 友子的表情变了。三村看她这副神态，立刻断定：她就是犯人。 “是的，你耍弄所谓显灵照片这种复杂伎俩，可以说这本身就是证据吧？想到小田原清一郎这个人为骗取保险金而犯下的罪行时，这张照片就非常清楚地说明了问题。” “到底是怎么回事呀？”三村问道。 “就是为代替自己死亡而谋害了别人。在这一阶段，他最害怕的是在确认身份时败露出来。于是小田原就采用了等待被害人尸体自然腐烂。然而光是埋在那里并不能拿到至关重要的保险金。转而想通过妻子把尸体挖出来。但是，要想这么干也得找出个挖那里又不让人觉得奇怪的理由吧？在这里拍摄显灵照片啦，散布灵魂喊冤叫屈的论调啦，都是为了达到这个目的。选择那么个地方，拍成那样的照片，不用说，都是按照她丈夫的指示由她来干的。根据岛元先生的？述，实际上您巧妙地布置了一切。让岛元先生带您兜风。去的地方，当然是由您指定的啦。等路过安排好的地点时，就说非解手不可，于是进了树林，接着在刻字的树下拍照……” “话是这么说。可是那样只能拍成一般的照片，决不会拍成显灵的照片。三村先生也曾亲眼目睹，照片上确实是我丈夫的面孔……” “尸体不是小田原的，那么，其他一切就不难解决了。首先，用的不是自动测光照相机。比如把胶卷装进标准规格的三十五毫米照相机，镜头用镜头罩蒙好，然后一张张地按快门。这样继续下去，当照到第十二张的时候，拍上小田原的脸部。那是在一片漆黑当中，小田原身穿墨黑色的衣服，由不太亮的聚光灯只照在他的脸上，就这样拍成的。然后，再不胶卷退回到开端的位置。当然，在胶卷的开端上，除了暗箱里的胶卷之外，还要留有片头。在所留的片头上，如果在最初也做好记号，就不会有差错了。然后把这个胶卷装在其他的照相机里。由于其中的胶卷还是没有感过光的，所以完全顶用。但只有第十二张形成了两次暴光，这就是显灵的照片。她在解手的时候所以把照相机带走，就是怕岛元先生随便拍照，以至把最要紧的第十二张底片弄得失去作用……” “原来这样，不过您这些话怎样才能得到证实呢？” 三村还不放心地问道。 “这事好办，您跟着她到目的地去就行了。到时候，小田原一定会出现，他一经出现，那就是最好的证据了……”