Chapter 11 Dead West

one Thirty minutes from Fukuoka along the Kagoshima Railway, you will arrive at Shuicheng Station.This place used to be Shuicheng Village, but now it is merged with Dazaifu Town. Water Castle is an earth barrier built in the seventh century to defend against invasion from the mainland. It is about two kilometers away from Dazaifu.The three-year article of Emperor Liuzhi, the secretary of Japan, wrote: build the Chikushi embankment to store water, and give it the name Water City. This is where the left and right mountains are the narrowest. Until now, there is still an earth embankment about one kilometer long, 37 meters wide at the base, and 14 meters high at the Shuicheng ruins.

According to research in recent years, the embankment does not store water, but is actually an outer line of defense to protect Dazaifu. At eight o'clock in the morning on April 10, a housewife from a nearby farm entered the bamboo forest on the dike.The embankment is overgrown with weeds and wild bamboos, and there is not even a passing path, so few people go there. In order to make a living, the peasant woman went to the forest to dig bamboo shoots. Suddenly, she found a flesh-colored left-handed women's glove among the weeds, and the other disappeared. Is there another one?She looked around.

However, on a slope, she suddenly discovered a place where no green grass grew.The grass next to it is uneven in yellow and green, but this one is a piece of black soil with a diameter of about one meter. The peasant woman seemed to feel a little strange, so she dug up the black soil with a shovel.In this way, after digging only 30 centimeters, the fingers of a pair of men's black gloves were found.Moreover, the wrist of a dead body was exposed underneath.She screamed in fright, and ran back to the village. Fukuoka County Police Search Section 1 received the report and rushed to the scene immediately to check the dead body.

The body had been dead for two months.It was a man of twenty-four or five, rotten.There is a dark rope mark on the neck.Clothing is ochre-coloured jacket and gray duck-patin trousers.Hair is navy and appears to have just had a haircut.Both hands are wearing black leather gloves.The socks are purple, with big flowers, and the leather shoes also have flower belts. One can tell that he is a fashionable young man. There is nothing around.It looks like a long face with thick eyebrows, two big eyes, a high nose bridge, and thick lips. I took off my gloves and looked at my palms carefully. I didn't do any heavy labor during my lifetime, so I probably belonged to a white-collar worker.The murder rope was missing, but judging from the marks on the neck, it was a rather thick hemp rope.

The teeth are in good order, and although there are cavities, there are no traces of inlays, so there is no way to investigate by a dentist. In order to bury the dead bodies, a 10-centimeter-deep pit was dug at the scene, covered with fallen leaves and withered grass. It is conceivable that the time of the murder was winter.From the changes in the deceased's clothing, gloves, and body, etc., it can be roughly presumed that he died two months ago, in early February.Afterwards, the body was sent to the hospital for autopsy, and the doctor's conclusion was roughly similar. Although few people go to the bamboo forest on site, the nearby area is full of pedestrians, who come and go from time to time.The Kagoshima Railway passes through the embankment, and there are places such as the Chikushi Kokubunji Temple, the Dufu Building Site, and Kannon Temple to the south, which become the Kurume Highway.

Where did the murder happen? There is a road near the site, the road surface is narrow, but it also leads to the county office road.Possibly strangled elsewhere and brought the body in a truck. Another possibility is to lure the deceased to the embankment and strangle him to death on the spot. The Fukuoka Prefectural Police's search headquarters is located in the Erkaichi Police Station, and they generally lean towards the latter. They are inferred from the women's gloves picked up by the peasant woman at the scene. However, it is impossible to know what the female hand (the left hand) has to do with the case.Maybe the owner of the glove didn't know that there was a dead body here, and had come to the scene.

However, according to the following inference, it can be considered that the glove is closely related to the murder case. The gloves are winter stuff, and they are dirty after several rains.According to the Fukuoka Meteorological Bureau, from the beginning of February to the present, it has rained thirteen times near Shuicheng.The glove stains are about the same as this number. Near the scene, there are a lot of pedestrians during the day.If people in the village saw a young woman walking around wearing such flesh-colored gloves, they would definitely have an impression, but the neighbors said they had never seen it.Therefore, the owner of the glove must have come here at night, which is also in line with the conditions for murder.

The dead come here at night, and the woman is a companion, so the actions of the two are easy to understand.In other words, male and female couples will always seek a quiet place at night. Based on the above reasons, it can be inferred that although there is only one left glove left, it is still quite related to the bloody case. If you add a little imagination, she lost a glove at the scene, which can explain that she went there in a hurry at that time, and this phenomenon happened because of a special incident. The gloves are made of lambskin, and a pair costs 2,000 yen.From this point of view, her clothes must also be very gorgeous.

Could this woman be the murderer?Otherwise, there is another man, the three of them came here together, and that man killed the deceased. If this is the case, the possibility of a triangle relationship is the greatest.The woman could also be regarded as a murderer.If it is said that a single woman can strangle a man to death, it is somewhat doubtful.However, it is not entirely impossible to place the deceased in a special state.For example, the man is sleeping.She gave him sleeping pills first, and she could strangle him to death when he was unconscious. Naturally, he would not sleep here for no reason.The weather in early February is still cold in Kitakyushu.Especially when it was freezing like ice at night, the man would never fall asleep here peacefully.The clothes he was wearing were quite thin. Although the close-fitting clothes were exquisite, he did not have a coat. Perhaps he was wearing a coat, but it was taken away by the murderer.

Under such circumstances, the jacket and coat were missing, which can be said to be the intentional arrangement of the murderer.Coats and coats always have names and store names, which are easy to trace.The murderer was not trying to rob money, but to make the case more complicated. All in all, we must first investigate the life experience of the deceased before we can handle the case.The police will do their best to track this down first. two The deceased may have been someone nearby. It takes about 15 minutes to get here from Fukuoka by taking the electric train of West Japan Railway, and it takes about 20 minutes to get to Kurume.Judging from the clothes of the deceased, he may have been from Fukuoka City or Kurume City.The local prefectural police searched the headquarters and asked Fukuoka Police Station and Kurume Police Station for assistance in investigating the identity of the deceased.

Torikai Shigetaro of the Fukuoka City Police Department has been interested since he saw the news of the dead body found in Mizuki in the newspaper.The murder scene, Shuicheng, was right next to the capital building, and he had linked the two place names together in his mind. He is planning to ask Shifeng to allow him to assist in the investigation, but Fukuoka's official document requesting assistance in handling the case has arrived first. After receiving the order to handle the case, Torikai immediately found the characteristics of the corpse, the autopsy records, the situation on the spot and photos, etc. in detail. The clothing of the deceased was indeed that of a metropolitan, and it was somehow different from the clothing of local youths.Torikai believes that judging from the characteristics of the deceased, it is better to say that he lived in Fukuoka City than Kurume, because Fukuoka can still be called a metropolis. However, after further investigation, the deceased seemed to be a person from Tokyo, which was more appropriate. Torikai Shigetaro always had the impression of the letter from Superintendent Mihara in his mind.As soon as he saw the news that the dead body was found in Shuicheng, he quickly found Sanyuan's letter again and read it again. Mihara wrote to him in the past asking him about the Sagami Lake murder case near Tokyo. There was a suspect named Mineoka Monday, who had been to Fukuoka for activities.Among them, Mineoka had a 50-minute talk at Daito Company in Fukuoka City at about 1:00 pm on February 7, and then went to visit the capital building site. Mihara asked Torikai to check whether Mineoka had actually been to the Daito Company, but now, the theory that Mineoka had visited the capital building site took the main place in Torikai Shigetaro's mind. The capital building site is very close to Shuicheng, and it takes 30 minutes to walk there, about three kilometers away. Therefore, the deceased in the Shuicheng murder case was determined to have died in early February, which attracted the attention of Bird Feed. No matter the metropolitan costume of the deceased, no matter the date of the murder, no matter the distance from the scene, they all agree with the case investigated by Mihara. Even the method of strangling to death with a thick hemp rope around the neck is similar to the method of death of Takeo Doi, the deceased in the Sagami Lake case. Torikai Shigetaro immediately wrote a letter to Mihara, and attached a photo of the deceased. The letter said that although it is not known whether it is really related to the Sagami Lake murder, it can be used as a reference. The investigation of the deceased's life experience has added difficulties to the police.First, no one reported missing family members to the Fukuoka Police Station or the Kurume Police Station.The clothes on the deceased were all ready-made clothes, and they were all second-hand goods worn for a long time. Neither the logo of the laundry shop nor the brand name of the tailor shop could be found on them.Shoes are also ready-made goods.The black gloves were also torn.And, all of them are cheap.From this point of view, the deceased's youth life was not rich. Underwear, trousers, gloves, leather whips, etc. are either from Tokyo or Osaka, but this does not prove that he is from Tokyo or Osaka, because these things can be sold to all parts of the country through wholesalers in Tokyo and Osaka.This person can wear the goods of two metropolises, which is enough to prove that he is a person from a local metropolis. However, Torikai Shigetaro always believed that the deceased was from Tokyo anyway.This is because the case that Mihara asked him to investigate has always remained in his mind. The detectives went to various places for four or five days to inquire, but they couldn't get a clue whether they were in Fukuoka or Kurume. Had to go back and track down the women's glove with only one.These gloves are also from Tokyo, but after investigation, Iwataya and Tamaya department stores in Fukuoka also sell them. Therefore, it is impossible to judge the residence of its mistress from a single glove.Since Fukuoka has something for sale, there may be something for sale all over the country. Because of the continuous rain after the massacre, the scene was overgrown with spring grass.However, it was at least the same woman who came to the scene.This was inferred from the flesh-coloured lady's glove. In addition, there must be someone ambushing here.Otherwise, she would not be able to strangle a young man to death with her own strength. Letters have been very slow these days, and it took six days for Mihara to send his reply letter from Tokyo to Fukuoka.But in six days, the investigation made no progress. Superintendent Mihara’s letter to the effect that he strongly agrees with Torikai’s point of view, that the Sagami Lake massacre must be closely related to the Shuicheng massacre, both cases involved a woman, and the deceased in the Shuicheng massacre was a young man. It is the mastermind or participant behind the scenes.As for the suspect Mineoka Monday, although he claimed to have visited the capital building site to cultivate the inspiration for writing haiku, he might have gone to Shuicheng to carry out the murder case. three Tokai Shigetaro stood in front of the capital building site. The weather is already Xiaoyangchun. Several stone foundations on the square are warmed by the sun, and the grass is lush. Surrounding the stone foundations, several couples of tourists and children are sitting on the grass for a picnic. Pretending to be a tourist, Torikai first looked at the stele, on which was inscribed the origin of the capital building.Thousands of hundreds of years ago, this was the Governor's Mansion in the west of Zhenxi, where a majestic government office stood. There is a small teahouse not far from the monument, which sells soft drinks, orange juice, ice cream and so on. In his letter, Mihara wrote that Mineoka testified on Monday that the teahouse was not open when he arrived at the capital building site, so there were no witnesses.On February 7th, when the sky is freezing, it is inevitable that there will be no tourists here.However, Mineoka claims that no one saw him, and it is difficult to tell whether this testimony is in his favor or against him. The bird feeds into the teahouse, eating ice cream while looking at the mountains in the distance. The proprietress, he said, was there any business in this teahouse in early February? It's freezing cold, who comes here?That's not the time to do business.We don't always open until March.A short old woman in her fifties answered. Sure enough, it was impossible to tell whether Mineoka Monday had been here. So, no one comes to play in winter? It is not likely that when someone goes to Musashi Onsen, they will stop by here for a bend. Musashi Onsen is two kilometers west of here, a hot spring town in the opposite direction to Dazaifu. This hot spring has been famous since ancient times, and there is a Tianbai Mountain behind it. According to legend, Sugawara Michizane, who was demoted to Dazai Quanshuai, was angry with climbing the mountain and turned into a god of thunder.When Raytheon arrived in Kyoto, General Jin slandered and framed Michizane Fujiwara Tokihei to death.This is the back mountain of Fukuoka, just like the relationship between Tokyo and Atami.Torikai Shigetaro left the capital building site.Take the long-distance bus from Erkaichi to Shuicheng Station.The driving time was only ten minutes. Maybe the murderer and the deceased arrived at the scene by long-distance bus. Coming here, Tokai Shigetaro remembered a special thing. A letter from Tokyo said that Mineoka claimed to have visited the capital building site on Monday.If he was really related to the Shuicheng massacre, why did the police testify that he brought up the address of the capital building not far from Shuicheng? According to ordinary psychology, the murderer must say the opposite direction instead of mentioning nearby places, such as going to Xiangshii, to benefit himself.Now, Torikai connects the Sagami Lake massacre with the massacre here because Mineoka claimed to have been to the capital building site on Monday.Why did Mineoka describe this unfavorable condition? Looking at it this way, it may be true that Mineoka claimed to be at the capital building site on Monday. But Torikai took it a step further. There is no reason for Mineoka to say this.He may feel that if he said the opposite direction, such as the direction to Kashii, it would be easier to expose.In order to prevent someone from seeing him with his own eyes, he deliberately told the real whereabouts, but the address was slightly off.Therefore, it is logical that someone might see him at the station in front of the department store, and we are not afraid of loopholes. Yes, that might be the case. Bird feed got off the long-distance bus and walked towards Shuicheng, but he kept thinking about this matter carefully in his heart. From the access road to the narrow path between the farmland.In the field, lotus, bean curd, dandelion, etc. are blooming happily, and the cauliflower is golden.Little white butterflies flutter around, if there is no criminal act of murder and arson in the world, wouldn't it be better for all creatures to enjoy the grace of the sun. Torikai boarded the embankment and immediately found the scene of the murder.The rope from the previous measurement was still lying on the ground, and the soil pit dug once was buried again, but there was still no grass growing. Tori stood there for a while, looking at the mound.I didn't personally participate in the survey in the past, and I just arrived at the scene now. However, all the survey reports and autopsy reports have been reproduced in my mind. There was no one else, only the electric trains of the West Japan Railway rumbling past at intervals.The railroad track is about five hundred meters away from here. According to the local investigation report, the place where the flesh-colored female glove disappeared was five meters away from the pit of the deceased. The bird fed down the earth embankment, and a cow blew from somewhere. Mineoka Monday this person. Since Tokai Shigetaro had received many investigation reports from Superintendent Mihara on the Sagamiko murder case, he knew the handling of that case well.Mihara is tracking down Mineoka Monday.Torikai believes that the direction of investigation is correct. On the night of February 6, when the murder occurred, the deceased went to the hotel by Lake Sagami with a woman who looked like a wine girl.After dinner, the two went for a walk by the dark lake. Afterwards, the woman disappeared and the man was brutally killed. Torikai now has the same idea as Superintendent Mihara.Wasn't the person who lost the women's glove in the Shuicheng murder case the woman who escaped from the lake?Since this female glove is closely related to the Shuicheng massacre, it is natural to draw this inference. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has disbanded the search headquarters for the Sagami Lake murder case.Not only did the woman who escaped from the lakeside not know her whereabouts, but her life experience was also unknown. What if the same woman also appeared in Kyushu?The massacre here happened in early February, before or after the Sagami Lake massacre on February 6th? According to Torikai, the Shuicheng massacre occurred after the Sagami Lake massacre.In other words, the woman who escaped from Lake Sagami came to the vicinity of Dazaifu in Kyushu and strangled a young man to death. youth. Torikai overlooked the vast wilderness.In the field of yellow cauliflower and the field of red lotus, the purple stems of bean curd stick out. Is the young man who was killed an accomplice of Mineoka Monday? Is he the photographer of the ceremony at the Nunukari Shrine?Maybe, after taking pictures at the shrine in the early morning of February 7, he went to Kokura Station to wait for the plane to come to Mineoka on Monday, and handed over the film.Mineoka got the film on Monday and entered the Daji Hotel, and used the remaining film to take pictures of the female workers.Seeing that all the evidence was in place on Monday, Mineoka killed the accomplice. This time the murder was also done by using women to lure them into the trap, using the same technique as the Sagami Lake murder case. Tokai Shigetaro walked while thinking, and came to the long-distance bus station. The big white bus swayed from Fukuoka, and the dust was flying all the way.Suddenly, he discovered that the destination stated on the front of the car was Musashi Onsen. Torikai remembered what he had just heard in the teahouse at the capital building site.Yes, Musashi Onsen, if a couple from Tokyo come here, they will always live in Musashi Onsen. On the Sagami Lake line, a young man appeared dimly.Moreover, this person was killed in Kyushu.How to investigate this young man now? Young women and youths, Tokai thought about their relationship with Mineoka Monday, and were not idle at all on the long-distance bus to Musashi Onsen.