Chapter 15 third chapter

Kusumi asked Kondo, the youngest police officer in the fourth class, to drive the police car to the apartment building where Kondo was.It is necessary for him to know as soon as possible whether Yuko Ibe is lying to them. Senrakuso is an apartment building built shortly after the war.The building has only two floors and is old and dilapidated.Go up the iron stairs to the second floor, and you will see the number plate "Neto Moriichi" on the door of Room 203.Fortunately, two years later, he still seems to be living here. After ringing the buzzer on the door, the man who came to open the door was almost thirty years old, with a bitter and vengeful face.Although this person looks good at first glance, and he looks a little rich, but he still feels that he is not very handsome.Seeing that his hair is very long, he probably has no job now.

"Are you Nedo Moriichi?" "Yes, you are?" Nan Jian showed him the police manual.Neto Moriichi suddenly realized: "You are here for the case of Asami Uchino falling from the upstairs of Yuko's house, right? Yuko still told it." "That's the case. Asami Uchino, the case of the hostess. Are you sure you really saw it?" "Sure, I can see it clearly." "Tell me in detail." "I was chatting with Yuko, and I suddenly wanted to breathe the fresh air outside, so I opened the window facing the backyard. Then I saw a woman falling downstairs against the window..."

"Just to get some fresh air? That's not the same as what we heard from Asami Uchino. According to her, it wasn't you who rushed to the bed, opened the window, drew the curtains, and threatened her that she wouldn't come back with you Just rushing outside and yelling that you are together?" Hearing this, Nedo Mori blushed. "Yuko, that guy is so long-winded. She was right. I heard that she was going to get married next month, so I went to tell her that I wanted her to come back to me. Yuko's fiancé is a doctor, but What is a doctor? The one who understands her best is not me who has been with her since she was a college student in the United States. I am the only one who is qualified to say that Yuko can make Yuko happy. However, Yuko doesn’t understand this at all. Point. I opened the window and said those things to her because I was angry. I didn't mean anything malicious, I just did something that Yuko didn't expect."

"It's so late, don't do things that would cause misunderstandings. Then, after you opened the window, you saw Asami Uchino fall from the window?" "Yes, we were all petrified. We looked down from the window and found that she had fallen into the backyard, motionless. I hurried to the backyard with Yuko to check the situation." Nanjian kept staring at his face closely, his expression didn't look like he was lying.Nedo Mori turned into anger from embarrassment: "Is there anything wrong with witnessing Asami Uchino falling down the stairs?" Nan Jian told him everything about his investigation and reasoning: Asami Uchino was actually stabbed to death at her own home; the window was pushed down by the prisoner at least three hours after her death; The door was chained; it was impossible for the prisoner to escape from her house, but there was no trace of the prisoner.

"If Yuko Ibe's testimony about the deceased falling from the window is false, then the mystery of how the prisoner escaped from the deceased's house will no longer exist. That's why we need you to confirm." "That woman, Uchino Asami, really fell from the window. I was so scared that my eyes widened. Although it was only a moment, it was deeply in my eyes. I still think about it in my dreams, really too terrifying." In any case, it is confirmed that Asami Uchino fell from the window of her own house on the sixth floor. "Then you quickly left the scene, right?"

"Because Yuko told me that her fiancé would misunderstand her if we stayed together so late." "So you came back immediately." "yes." "About what time will you arrive?" "This... I was so drunk at the time, I can't remember the exact time." After thanking Nedo Mori, Kusumi immediately boarded the police car and headed to the bar where Asami Uchino worked in Kitashinchi - "Emperor". Along the way, various thoughts intertwined in Nanjian's mind.Now that it is a fact that Asami Uchino fell from the sixth floor, two problems will arise.

First, what was the reason for the prisoner to push the deceased down the stairs after committing a crime; and why there was an interval of at least three hours. Second, how did the prisoner escape from the scene after throwing his body? "If it's in a mystery novel, wouldn't it be murder in a secret room?" Officer Kondo, who was holding the steering wheel, spoke briskly.Nanjian answered him with a calm face: "Yes." "It would be great if the Chamber of Secrets collector could help us..." Kondo said. "The Chamber of Secrets collector? It's just a legend among the police. In fact, there is no such person."

The so-called "Secret Chamber Collector" is a mysterious person who appeared at the scene of those "Secret Chamber Murder" cases and deduced the truth.Nan Jian was also in various places a few years ago, and heard more than once that this person was elusive.However, there were several years between the cases I heard, but each time I heard that the collector of the secret room was a young man in his thirties.As a result, Nanjian felt that this person was just made up. "Is that so? I became a policeman just to meet the Chamber of Secrets collector. My uncle is also a policeman, and he witnessed the Chamber of Secrets collector solve the case with his own eyes shortly after the defeat."

Become a cop just to meet the Chamber of Secrets collector?Nan Jian wanted to ridicule him, but swallowed the words back.Today's children, should we say that they are becoming more and more naive, or that they are becoming more and more indistinguishable from delusion and reality?Kondo is twenty-five years old this year, which means he was born in Showa 15 (Note: 1941 AD).From now on, will there be more and more young people like this... The five-story building where the "Emperor" bar is located is full of various bars and clubs, and the "Emperor" bar is on the third floor.After the two took the elevator to the third floor, they saw the words "Empereur" gilded on the thick saffron.

"What does this word mean?" Kusumi asked the university-educated Kondo. "Empereur, which means 'Emperor' in French, has the same meaning as 'Emperor' in English, but the spelling is different." "Why did you come up with such a name?" "Probably because the owner here likes Napoleon brandy." After the door opened, the two met four men in suits, a woman in a kimono in her forties, and two women in her twenties in dress skirts walking towards the door.Several men seem to be discussing excitedly that the time from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka Station on the Tokaido Shinkansen Line has been shortened to three hours and ten minutes.The women kept their heads down and listened carefully, and sent them to the elevator, watching them get on the elevator before going back.

The woman in the kimono noticed the two and said, "Sorry, we're closing." She should be the proprietress here.Nan Jian took out the police manual, and the expressions of the women immediately became tense.The proprietress asked anxiously: "Excuse me, what is your business here?" "Is Asami Uchino from your place?" "Exactly. May I ask what happened to her?" "She was murdered at her home." The proprietress couldn't help gasping, and the hostesses also screamed.Nan Jian wanted to listen to the confessions of several people in the store, so he followed them into the store. The store has an area of ​​about 15 ping, with four tables for four people sitting around, and ten high stools in front of the bar.There are no customers in the store, the four men who went out just now should be the last call today.The bartender was wiping wine glasses at the bar, and several hostesses were sitting on the sofa by the table, showing their exhaustion.After the proprietress explained the ins and outs to them who were full of doubts, they also screamed. "Tonight, Mami didn't come over. We don't know what happened. Although some of these girls will be absent from work without reason, Mami doesn't have this problem. Every time she can't come, she will ask for leave in advance..." "What time does Mami-san usually start work?" "Around 6:40 in the evening, because the store opens at seven." "How did she come here, by taxi?" "She takes the subway. Because she saves money when she can, she only takes a taxi home when she misses the last train after get off work." Miss Asami lives in the Inoue Building near Kizugawa Bridge.From there, take the subway to Kitashinchi, take the subway Chuo Line from Awaza, change to the Midosuji Line at Honmachi and get off at Umeda.Commuting time is about 40 minutes by walking and by car.Coming to work at 6:40 means that I can leave home at about 6:00.Her presumed time of death was between 5:30 and 6:30, so the prisoner should have come and killed her when she was about to go out. "What kind of person is Mami-san?" "She's really nice, and she can't figure out how such a person would be killed. Although she feels a little out of money's eyes, it's completely understandable for a girl to live alone at home..." "Does she have male clients?" "To be precise, it's not a male customer... There is indeed a man named Matsushita who treats her very well." "What's that man's name?" "That's not clear to me." "Who is it?" "I don't know where I live or what my occupation is. It's just that I'm only in my 30s, but I have huge assets. It may be an inheritance from my family. I have a Renault, and I will definitely take it every time I come here. That car. Maybe I was fascinated by Mami, and I come to see Mami once a week. Not only that, but it seems that Mami was chosen as the heir to the inheritance." "Does anyone know where this man lives?" Nan Jian asked the bartender and the hostesses sitting aside, but everyone said they didn't know. "He is a very silent person, and he rarely talks about himself... Every time I come here, I drink wine and chat with Mami. Maybe I am enjoying the atmosphere in the store. For us What a great guest." "What is the height and appearance of this person? What is his figure?" "Slim and petite, with relatively long hair. Double eyelids, phoenix eyes, and a high nose bridge. I think she should be very popular. When I come here, I often wear famous brand suits." The suspect finally surfaced.If this person surnamed Matsushita is really Mami's male customer, then this person is very likely to send Mami to her home for work and kill her because of some dispute.