In the afternoon, Kaede Kamio and Rei Seto left the hospital, and the two drove back to the old man's house in Sakatacho.

The radio on the bus was broadcasting interviews with TBS TV's legal program, and a number of leading figures in Tokyo's political and legal circles were invited to attend, including senior prosecutors from the Public Prosecutor's Office, judges from the Tribunal, investigators from the Metropolitan Police Department, and several gold medal lawyers.

They are discussing the recently hyped case of Nanae Yamamoto's bones, and most of them agree on the same opinion, that is, to rebuke my wife Zenmai, who almost escaped the law.

A lawyer said in fierce rhetoric on the radio: "Who is the statute of limitations for criminal proceedings in Heguo?" For criminal suspects?

On the other side of our country, in that ancient country, there is such an old saying, it is natural to pay for murder, why should there be such a legal provision as the statute of limitations for criminal proceedings to restrict the police handling procedures? Do you want to protect those criminals? ”

Another said: "Yes, there are already some people who even plan to propose to Congress to abolish the death penalty, and they explain Rousseau's social contract theory as a conclusive explanation, saying that the premise of the protection of the individual's right to life is to respect and not deprive others of their right to life, and that criminals should be given a chance to mend their ways." ”

"Most of these people believe that life is given by God, that no person or nation has the right to deprive him of life, and that only he can decide whether life exists or not, even if it is a heinous criminal. They believe that the use of so-called legal means to deprive prisoners of their lives is inhumane and incompatible with the development trend of developed countries, and therefore recommend that Congress abolish it. ”

"But I think that the death penalty exists for those who have committed the most heinous crimes, such as the Sowon case, the Gwangju Melting Pot case, the Nagoya pregnant woman caesarean section, and the Akihabara ogre case...... These criminals have committed unforgivable mistakes, they no longer need to atone for their sins in prison, and their very existence is a symbol of evil and a dereliction of duty. ”

"Speaking of which, we have to ask ourselves, are Cho Doo-soon, the perpetrator of the Pixel-won case, or Kim Hyung-joon, the culprit of the Melting Pot case, fair to those who died when they committed these unforgivable sins against the people around them, but in the end escaped justice? Where are the human rights of those who are killed? ”

"Although the case of Nanae Yamamoto's bones has been properly resolved under the efforts of the Shibuya police, this is only the tip of the iceberg, and I believe that there are many more similar cases in Japan that have been exempted from prosecution due to the existence of the statute of limitations for criminal proceedings and have become forever unresolved cases, so from this point ......of view, there is still a long way to go to repair the law in our country."

"According to credible sources, some members of parliament are ready to submit the issue of abolishing the statute of limitations for criminal proceedings to the National Assembly, and many people have supported it.

According to the current state of public opinion, if all goes well, next year the Congress will count votes to amend the statute of limitations law, abolish the 15-year criminal procedure period, and after the law takes effect, all cases that have not yet reached the 15-year litigation period will be transferred to indefinite prosecution. ”

"What about the cases before the law came into force? Are the murderers who have passed the 15-year trial period acquitted? Even if it is for the human rights of the victims who sacrificed before, it is only fair to go back to all serious cases in the past! ”

"The criminal prosecution period is a very sensitive issue, for those who have been acquitted by the law, you have just been acquitted, and then because of the change of the laws of the country, you are convicted again, you are a prisoner again, isn't this chaotic? The law should also be rigorous. ”

"Isn't the human rights of prisoners important, but the human rights of victims and bereaved families not important?"

"Whether it can be applied to indefinite prosecution is also a problem, and the possibility of a reasonable resolution is very low for cases that have not been solved for a long time before the new law takes effect, without sufficient witness evidence.

Police resources are limited, like the Yamamoto Nanae skeleton case, there is also an element of luck in it if it is successfully solved, if you are too entangled in the unsolved cases in the past, and miss the serious cases that are happening now, then it will create other unsolved cases, which will take care of one and lose the other, which is unreasonable......"

Listening to the verbal battle between these legal elites on the car radio, Seto Rei sighed and said: "The road to the legal repair of the country is long and difficult, and there is a long way to go. ”

Kamio said: "We may not have the right to participate in the formulation of these laws, nor do we have the strength to change them, and we may not approve of some of these provisions, but as police officers, we can only strictly enforce them."

The only thing we can do is to bring the criminals to justice within the framework of the law, and this is the only justice we can give to the victims. ”

Koda Natsuki's grandfather is still lying on a wicker chair basking in the sun like last time.

For Kaede Kamio and Rei Seto's second visit, Natsuki Koda showed unprecedented enthusiasm and invited them into the house for tea.

Kamio Kaede asked Natsuki Koda about her future plans, and Natsuki Koda decided to stay in Tokyo and no longer go back to Los Angeles to live with Fumi Koda.

In this regard, Kamio Kaede nodded, congratulating her on finding a job that was enough to stay in Tokyo to make a living, and at the same time told her that the case of my wife Zenmai had been officially transferred by the police to the District Public Prosecutor's Office, and it would not be long before the court held a trial, and in order to fill public opinion and soothe the emotions of the people, there was a high probability that she would be sentenced to death by hanging.

Hearing the news, Koda Natsuki shed tears of joy, she held the statue of Nanae Yamamoto placed next to the shrine, and joyfully told her mother who had been dead for fifteen years the news, and the depression that had been suppressed in her chest for fifteen years seemed to be vomited clean.

Looking at the figure of Yukita Natsuki, who was crying in front of the shrine, Seto Rei was also embarrassed for a long time, and whispered: "This case has been investigated for fifteen years, and I have poured the efforts of many people, and today the dust has finally settled.

It's a blessing to have such a filial daughter who can still remember her, but it's a pity that she married a husband who has no conscience. ”

Feeling to herself, Seto Rei couldn't help but wipe the corners of her eyes, feeling particularly moved by this warm scene.

Kamio Kaede sat on the edge of the sofa, his eyes slowly scanning all the furnishings in the house, just like when he first came here to visit Natsuki Koda, he once again had a strange feeling.

He silently stared at the girl muttering to her mother's statue in front of the shrine, as if she had finally thought of something, and her chest was a little stuffy inexplicably.

The truth...... Is that so?

He doesn't think he's a guy with a dark heart, but in this situation, it seems that crocodile tears have a new interpretation.

The girl in front of the shrine is just like that night 15 years ago—the missing mother, the adopted daughter who cried uncontrollably, and the adoptive father who was worried about it......

In the small corner room, the shrine is wrapped in candlelight, which seems to illuminate that night full of unbelief, the most unlikely truth, and the same illumination, the darkness of human nature.

As his thoughts diverged, Kamio Kaede felt like he had entered some kind of wonderful state, his butt lifted slightly, leaving the edge of the sofa, and the whole person seemed to be out of his body, standing lightly on the top of the entire house, looking down at the three people below.

The crying girl holding the statue in front of the shrine, the four-eyed criminal policeman wiping away tears next to the TV cabinet, and the flat-headed young man who is silent on the edge of the sofa;

The old man in the twilight who shook the fan in a daze on the rattan chair at the door, and the midsummer cricket that sang endlessly from the cedar trees beside the road;

From the evening of July 20 to three o'clock in the morning of the 21st of Heisei 16, everything that happened on the timeline -

Kamio Kaede's thoughts floated in the air, as if ignoring the long river of time, ignoring any physical laws, overlooking the whole process from a god's perspective, time flowed back, and the father and daughter were crying in the corner.

His brain was constantly speculating about the situation that night, like an overloaded computer CPU, frantically deducing.

If there is a pool of water at this time, then the power of this CPU can probably be steamed dry in an instant.

Suddenly, time turns, the clock resumes moving, the sun rises and sets, the years fly by, and the spirit returns.

Kamio Kaede came to his senses, but his face was full of boredom, not tired of thinking, but world-weary and disgusting after seeing human nature.

Koda Natsuki finally finished chattering and confiding in his deceased mother, carefully put the portrait back in its place, turned around, brushed the hair around his ear and apologized, "I'm sorry, it's a bit rude." ”

Seto Rei hurriedly waved his hand and said, "It's okay, we can understand your feelings, and your mother will be very relieved to know about it." ”

After speaking, he stabbed the silent Kamio Kaede next to him, squeezed his eyes and said, "Yes, Shenwei criminal?" ”

Kamio Kaede slowly raised his head and looked directly at Koda Natsuki, revealing a gaze that was diametrically opposed to when he came.