Chapter 10 chapter Five

The next morning, that happened when Kashiwagi was about to leave his apartment for work. "You are the inspector Eiji Kashiwagi from the Security Section of the Ogikubo Station, right?" The man he had never seen before suddenly answered Kashiwagi.He was a thin, tall man in his thirties. High nose bridge, slender and delicate eyes. "Who are you?" "Sorry to disturb you while you're on duty. I'm the Chamber Collector." "—Chamber Collector?" Kashiwagi stared at him with wide eyes.As a small official in the criminal police, Kashiwagi still knows the deeds of the secret room collector.

Although his real name and occupation are unknown, in short, once the "secret room murder" case mentioned in the detective novel happened, he would appear at the scene or search the headquarters to ask about the specific process.Although I originally wanted to drive him away as a weirdo, the troublesome thing is that the police department called me to help the secret room collector. "I heard that you witnessed the last side of the victims in the secret room murder that happened in Ogikubo the day before yesterday, and you were the first to discover the remains, right? Can you tell us more about the incident?"

"I belong to the security department, and I did not participate in the investigation of the incident. If you want to inquire about the incident, you should search the headquarters instead of me." "Of course, I plan to search the headquarters, but before that, I want to hear what you have to say." "Since you haven't searched the headquarters yet, why do you know that I am the discoverer of the remains? Then again, how do you know where I live?" The man smiled and replied, "Because I am a secret room collector."What kind of answer is that? "I want to hear from you. Please."

After speaking, he bowed his head deeply.The sight of a well-dressed man bowing his head in front of a fierce-looking giant is too unusual. Pedestrians on the road began to look over curiously.The embarrassed Kashiwagi hurriedly said: "I see. I said that's it, just look up." Kashiwagi started with meeting Masumi and Kaoru Shinoyama in Shinjuku, then the second meeting, the discovery of the body, and the results of the forensic autopsy that he heard from Detective Eto. "I know the truth." The Chamber of Secrets Collector said bluntly after listening.Kashiwagi stared at each other stupidly.

The incident that the police have been worrying about for days, is solved immediately just by listening to my speech? How could this kind of thing be possible? Knowing the truth or something, there must be a limit to delusional exaggeration. "I want to go to the headquarters of Ogikubo Bureau, can I go with you?" If this man wants to expose his strange remarks in the search headquarters to embarrass himself, I will not stop him. After Kashiwagi said as you please, he went to the bus station with him. Shall I take a taxi?The Chamber of Secrets Collector said.And waved to the passing taxi.

The taxi stopped, opened the door, and Kashiwagi realized that he had an impression of the driver. "Oh, aren't you the driver at that time? It was then, two months ago, at the east exit of Shinjuku Station. Do you remember the time when I sent high school boys and girls home?" The driver looked at Kashiwagi's face, and said with a flattering smile, "Oh, Mr. Police at that time." At this moment, a surprising scene happened.The secret room collector suddenly said to the driver in front of him: "You were the one who killed the two of you, right?" Bai Mu looked bewildered.What is this man talking about?Have a problem with your brain?

However, what was even more surprising was that the driver's expression suddenly changed and he tried to drive the car. The secret room collector was not thrown away, but got into the passenger seat and touched the resisting driver's neck with his hand. Then, inexplicably, the driver suddenly became exhausted.The Chamber of Secrets Collector hastily stepped on the brake pedal. Kashiwagi, who had just reacted, walked forward and found that the driver had lost consciousness. The young inspector from the nearby police station rushed over, and Kashiwagi also assisted in bringing the unconscious driver back to the police station.Judging from his attempt to escape, it seems that he is the man who murdered Onitou Masumi and Sasayama Kaoru, but no evidence has been found to prove this, so let's start with the obstruction of official duties and the attempted murder of the secret room collector. Suspect arrested.

The secret room collector was almost killed, but he still put on a calm face and a gentle smile.Just touching the neck with your hands can make the opponent lose consciousness. Is it the experience of mastering some kind of martial arts? The inspector was preparing to make tea, and Kashiwagi said, "You don't have to be polite, go back to your job." With this sentence, the inspector was driven back to the duty room, and he faced the secret room collector again. "There is still time before the officers from the search headquarters arrive. Can you tell me how the prisoner escaped the surveillance of me and my colleagues and entered and exited Xiaoshan's house. How did you know that the driver was a prisoner?"

"The initial clues to solving the incident were rain and phone calls." "Rain and phone?" "When Kaoru Sasayama called Kikuko at three o'clock in the afternoon on the day of the incident, he said, 'It's just raining here, what about my aunt's place', right? That's what caught my attention." "What's wrong with this sentence?" "According to you, who watched over the Sasayama's house, it should rain at 3:10, right? When Kaoru Sasayama called at Sasayama's house at 3:00, the rain hadn't started yet."

Kashiwagi suddenly realized.indeed so. "What's going on here? Here I think of four possibilities." "Four possibilities?" "Yes. The first possibility is that it rains at ten past three o'clock. Your testimony is wrong." "—Is my testimony false? Does that mean I'm lying?" The secret room collector shook his head and smiled: "No, you have no reason to make up a lie about the rainy time. What I am saying here is that your watch may be ten minutes ahead, making you misunderstand that the rainy time is ten minutes past three and It's not three o'clock."

"That's impossible. I adjusted my watch on purpose to tell the time on the radio that morning." "Then there's the second possibility. Maybe Kikuko's testimony was wrong. That is to say, it was ten past three when Kaoru called, but she made a mistake and said it was three o'clock." "However, Kikuko said that she called when the radio was playing classical music. There is no doubt that the time of the call is three o'clock." "Yes. Then the possibility of 'mistaking' is ruled out." "In this way... you want to say that Chrysanthemum is lying?" If Kikuko had lied, the secret room about Kaoru Sasayama's death would not have been established.Kaoru was stabbed and died before the Chamber of Secrets was established at 2:30——it made sense to think so. However, the Chamber of Secrets collector shook his head: "No, she has no reason to lie. You police have reviewed this point." "makes sense……" "The third possibility is that Kaoru Sasayama lied. It wasn't raining at three o'clock, but he deliberately lied, 'It's just raining here now'." "But why tell such a lie?" "You are right. Kaoru Xiaoshan has no reason to lie. Then, there is the fourth possibility, that is, it is indeed raining at the place where Kaoru Xiaoshan called at three o'clock." "--Ugh?" "Xiaoshan Kaoru's phone call at three o'clock was not at Xiaoshan's house, but somewhere else. In other words, it was three o'clock, and Kaoru was not at Xiaoshan's house but somewhere else." "—Are you somewhere else at three o'clock? How is that possible. Kaoru Sasayama went home at two o'clock. Do you want to say that he went out again after that? Indeed, before half past two o'clock at Sasayama's house There is no one monitoring the back door, and it is indeed possible to escape through the back door without my eyes. However, after 2:30 when my colleagues took their positions, the back door also entered the surveillance range. It is impossible for Kaoru to return without being noticed by me and my colleagues. The Sasayama house. However, at five o'clock, Kaoru and Onitou Masumi died in the reception room of the Sasayama house. If she was somewhere else at three o'clock, how did she return to the Sasayama house before five o'clock? ? Are you trying to say that my colleagues and I have misjudged? Or are we all lying?" "No, I didn't think that way. You and your colleagues are experienced detectives. It's hard to imagine that you would be wrong, and you have no reason to lie." "Then, how did Kaoru Xiaoshan return to Xiaoshan's house before five o'clock?" Kashiwagi didn't know where the secret room collector was going to lead the topic. Obviously, they haven't figured out how the prisoner escaped Kashiwagi's surveillance and entered and exited Xiaoshan's house, but now there is another mystery about how Kaoru got home.Things are just getting more and more chaotic, aren't they? "After Kaoru called Kikuko at three o'clock, Masumi Onitou was the only one who entered Shinoyama's house before five o'clock. Then, there is only one possibility that can be imagined here. That is, Kaoru entered as Masumi Onitu Xiaoshan's house." "—— Kaoru entered Sasayama's house as Onitou Masumi?" Kashiwagi stared at the Chamber of Secrets collector dumbfounded.Sure enough, the man in front of him had a brain problem. "What do you mean? Is it possible that you want to say that Kaoru Sasayama changed into Masumi Onitou? How could such a thing be done? You haven't met those two before you can say such a thing. Kaoru Sasayama is short in stature Onito Masumi is a tall boy. His face is also completely different. It is impossible to change clothes." "No, it's not a change of clothes. I'm talking about this situation—the fact that Kaoru Sasayama entered the Sasayama house, and you mistook it for Onitou Masumi who entered the Sasayama house." "--Ugh?" "You think the boy's name is Masumi Onito, and the girl's name is Kaoru Sasayama, but it's actually the other way around—the boy's name is Kaoru Shinoyama, and the girl's name is Masumi Onito."