"Officer Manabe, you were the first to spot the suspect before the gas station exploded, right?"

In the empty conference room, Lin Xiuyi specially called Manabe Crime, who had participated in the pursuit of the kidnappers, hoping that through the mouth of the other party, he could have a complete impression of the arrest.

Lin Xiuyi and Manabe were sitting in the corner of the conference room at this time, Lin Xiuyi's handbook was spread out on the table, holding a pen in his hand, waiting to record something at any time.

"Hey, I was indeed the first to spot the suspect. ”

"Oh, and what do you remember about what happened?"

"At that time, we were going from house to house searching for the kidnappers' hiding places. Because of the seriousness of the case and the fact that the hostages are still in the hands of the kidnappers, we have always been very careful in our actions. ”

"At that time, we were disguised as people from the power company who entered the lockdown area and conducted door-to-door inspections. I remember when we had just come out of one house and were about to rush to the next house, we suddenly saw a man walking in front of us on the road?"

"Oh...... Sounds like a coincidence!"

"Yes, I thought it was very strange at the time, it was all a residential area, and the sirens could be heard not far from here, and I really couldn't understand why people were running outside at this time. What's more, he was carrying a large travel bag similar to the one on the wanted notice!"

"And then, what did you do?"

"We weren't wearing police uniforms, so we pretended to stop him under the pretext of asking for directions, but as soon as we opened our mouths, he suddenly sped away. ”

"Ran away? And what did you do about it?"

"Of course, we immediately caught up with him, and at the same time immediately reported our location to Officer Shenmu!"

"Huh, how did you follow the kidnappers to the gas station after that?"

"This ...... We just chased after us, and then a colleague followed us, and someone fired a warning shot on the way. ”

"And then, you've been following him all the time, never letting him out of your sight?"

"Well, we've been staring at him all the time. After following him out of the residential area, the kidnapper climbed over the highway guardrail near the residential area and ran to the gas station opposite!"

"Have you ever seen the kidnappers in the process?"

"This ...... It was dark at the time, and the other party was wearing a mask all the time, so ......"

"What did you do after the refueling battle?"

"At that time, the road was only blocking the lane to Yamanashi Prefecture, so it took us some time to avoid the traffic coming and going. By the time we got to the gas station, all the people inside had been kicked out, and the gas station employees who ran out told us that they had threatened to burn down the ......."

"Officer Manabe, there's a question I need your help with, here's a satellite map of the area blocked by that incident, I'd like to ask you to help me roughly plot the route you took when chasing the kidnappers on this map......"

"Well, okay, I'll try it as much as I can. I'm afraid there's something I can't remember!"

"It doesn't matter, aren't there other colleagues involved in this operation, and if you are unsure, you can call and ask for their opinions?"

Lin Xiuyi said as he handed over a pen and a map prepared in advance to the other party's hand. After looking at the map for a long time, Officer Manabe finally found the location where he found the kidnapper, and then he traced the specific road he took to hunt down the kidnapper on the map while recalling.

Fifteen minutes later, Officer Manabe, who had been repeatedly confirmed, finally put down the pen in his hand, and then handed the map back to Lin Shuichi again. Lin Xiuyi, who took the map, looked at it for a moment, and then said to Officer Manabe with a confident face:

"Looks like the nearest line?"

"Huh?"

Hearing Lin Xiuyi's conclusion, Officer Manabe hurriedly came to the map to confirm again.

"You see, this road from this location to the gas station is indeed the shortest route! However, the suspect was chased by so many police officers at that time, and he was able to calmly run along the shortest route to the gas station! It seems that this is not some accidental coincidence!"

"That...... What do you mean......"

"A wanted kidnapper wandering around the road with a big bag of money on his back sounds like something is wrong!"

"Hearing you say that, it seems to be true, and I think about it, there were several times when we almost lost the suspect, but when we turned the corner, we saw the suspect again...... Now that I think about it, that's weird!"

Inspired by Lin Xiuyi, Manabe also began to doubt the situation at that time.

"From the map, this blockaded area contains not only residential areas, but also some public facilities and commercial establishments. It can be a very time-consuming task for the police to complete the area. If the suspect really wants to avoid the police, it is not difficult to find a place to hide. However, it is strange that the kidnappers are wandering the streets with ransom money while the police are manhunting......

"Police, do you mean that the other party is trying to lure us to the gas station?"

"That's what I think is the most likely hypothesis at the moment...... Of course, this is not 100% confirmed by the available evidence, but there is one thing that concerns me along these lines. That's the problem with that travel bag!"

"Travel bag?"

"As you said, the first thing that caught your eye was the travel bag. Before that, though, the kidnappers had been out of the police's radar for quite some time. So what I have to ask is, did the kidnappers really have that money with them all the time?"

"Police Department, you mean ......"

"When the explosion occurred, both the police and the media believed that the 113 million yen as a ransom had been reduced to ashes in the fire. But I've always had doubts about it. After all, when so many people actually end their lives by raising fire to commit suicide, it seems to be both painful and sympathetic. Correspondingly, people don't pay much attention to the real whereabouts of that ransom, but what if all this is exactly what the kidnappers need to achieve?"