The sun is setting and night is falling.

Under the colorful neon lights, the pink Mitsubishi EVO and the bright red Mazda are speeding on the suburban roads far from the city, and the speeding appearance of the roaring engine is unaware that it is a race.

After nearly two hours of travel, two cars drifted into the planned parking space outside the gate of a racecourse where many police cars were parked.

A man and a woman stepped out of their respective cars, their faces slightly hazy in the moonlight.

The Tokyo Red Horn Turf Club is one of the top contenders for the championship in Tokyo and Japan. In the suburbs of Okuho, Tokyo, they also have a horse farm named after the club's head office.

Red Corner Commercial Racecourse.

"Metropolitan Police Department, Violent Crime Three Divisions, Miwako Sato."

"Katsumi Uehara."

The two of them, who showed their IDs, scooped up the cordon and bent down into the brightly lit racecourse under the watchful eyes of the officers of the Okuho Town Police Station.

The police officers who came and went were particularly noisy in the secluded racecourse, and Takagi, who was communicating with the person in charge of the Okuho Town Police Station, heard the movement behind him, turned his head and saw the person who came, and hurriedly raised his hand to greet: "Sato Criminal, Uehara Criminal, this way." ”

"Takagi, what's going on?"

Miwako Sato, who was wearing gloves, immediately looked past the group of police officers and glanced at the stables that had set up a cordon not far away.

"There are only two dead people, Mrs. Kirino and her daughter, and other than that, the dead horses."

Katsumi Uehara, who also took the gloves and put them on, frowned: "Dead horses? ”

"I've asked the staff, and this area is home to horses that have retired from the field, the ones that are nearing the end of their lives." Takagi, who opened the small book, said what he had asked: "The person in charge of this area is one of the victims of the serial murder case. ”

"What's going on with these two bodies? Didn't you look into this place when you were investigating serial murders before? Looking at the two corpses that had been carried out by the staff of the forensic section, Miwako Sato covered her nose with her hands, frowned and stepped forward to squat down, and reached out to lift the corner of the white cloth-

On the corpse, the wet sores still attract many flies to hover under the light.

"Shiratori and I checked here, but at the time I didn't expect that there was a secret room hidden under this stable, and the explosive ordnance disposal board found an anomaly under the stable when we were checking for bombs on the carpet, and after confirming that there were no bombs, we smashed open this secret room."

While Miwako Sato was checking the overview of the two corpses, one large and one small, Wataru Takagi led Katsumi Uehara into the stables that still smelled.

Not far behind the buttocks of the two groups of old horses who were eating, there was a passage that could accommodate adults of normal size to enter and exit.

Squatted down with Takagi on his front and back feet, and a space that was not too large immediately met Katsumi Uehara's eyes-

The strong smell of formalin instantly filled his nostrils.

"These two fish tanks, those two corpses have been soaked in them."

Squatting on the ground, Takagi Shibu gently fanned the tip of his nose with his right hand and knocked on the fish tank full of liquid beside him.

"This material looks a little old, has it been changed?" Touching the ash on the load-bearing beam above his head, Katsumi Uehara, who was also squatting, frowned and asked.

"Yes, the stables with old horses in the vicinity have been renovated, and the contractor is Takasugi Construction."

Katsumi Uehara, who nodded, continued to look at the not very wide field, where the two fish tanks could occupy almost most of the area, leaving only about two or three normal-sized adults squatting.

"What about the monitoring of the racecourse?"

"It's blank, I and Shiratori investigated it when we were investigating the serial murder case before, and it should have been artificially cleared."

"This bastard really knows how to find a place."

Slowly moved to the entrance of the passage, then stood up, and Katsumi Uehara, who had jumped out of the stable with his hands propped on the stable, clapped his hands. The two old horses, who were eating dinner in the trough, couldn't help but turn their heads to look at the movement when they heard the movement, and they snorted lightly and heavily.

It seems that he is very unhappy that he disturbed his own eating.

"Animals are animals, and people who are dead still eat so happily, and sooner or later they will die."

Glancing at the food in the trough of the two horses, Katsumi Uehara fanned the palm of his right hand to the tip of his nose. Walked out with his feet raised, muttering about the scene and passing by the second horse.

"Sato, how's it going?"

"It should be the same person as the serial murder criminal, you see here, Uehara." Outside the stable, Miwako Sato, who uncovered the white cloth, pointed to the upper body of two corpses, an adult woman and a minor woman—

Almost identical to the wounds on the bodies of the seven deceased in the serial killings.

It's just that the wound in adult women is on the back; The wound on the body of the underage woman, who was supposed to be about sixteen or seventeen years old, was on the chest.

"Call Keiichi Kirino."

After looking through it, Katsumi Uehara, who had a calm face, sighed and covered the white cloth again. As he stood up, he waved his hand above his head, and after driving away the annoying flies, he spoke, "What's the matter with the sores on these two people?" ”

"I don't know."

Miwako Sato, who also stood up, sighed: "I don't know the time of death, if I die for too long, it will be difficult for the autopsy to find anything valuable." ”

The corpse of the serial homicide case was found and the police took one on the spot, and although they were queuing for autopsy, there was also a place to keep the body, but these two bodies were ......

"That can't be helped, whether it works or not, you have to try."

Katsumi Uehara, who took out his mobile phone, turned out Maji's real number: "You remember to overquote people when the time comes." ”

"Hmm."

Miwako Sato nodded, took advantage of his time on the phone to look around, pursed his lips, and his thoughts became more and more complicated-

Bell bell bell!

"Hello? I'm Sato. ”

"Bombs have been found on both sides of Sato, Suzuki Power Plant and Suzuki Foundation, and there are currently special personnel to clear them."

Chiba and Shin, who followed Twilight Thirteen to Suzuki's side, announced.

"Is it the same type of bomb?"

"Yes, what about you?"

"The deceased found here in the horse farm identified Keiichi Kirino's wife and daughter who had been kidnapped before, judging from the situation at the scene, they should have died on the day they were kidnapped, and the specific situation will have to wait to see the results.

"In addition, there was a considerable amount of formalin at the scene, which was used by the prisoners to preserve the corpses."

"Formalin?"

"That's right, Uehara and I are now preparing to go to Rice Flower Central Hospital." Miwako Sato took a deep breath and said in a condensed voice, "There's a doctor we have to contact." ”

"Doctor? Who? ”

……………………………………………………

"Natsukigawa Jiya."

"Natsukigawa Jiya? Are you sure? ”

Half past nine in the evening, Rice Flower Central Hospital.

Aso Shiyan, who was standing side by side with his friend in the hallway, was obviously surprised.

"You've heard of him?"

"Of course, the superstars of the life-saving center have saved many lives with their medical skills. The trophies, medals, and certificates he has won can be opened in a separate exhibition room, and many nurses in the hospital like him.

"Are you making a mistake, how can such a person be a murderer?"

"It's not a murderer, it's just a routine investigation." Katsumi Uehara corrected the wording.

Asso shrugged: "You're a policeman, you have the final say." ”

"Have you heard anything about him?"

"The wind? Does Merry Flow count? He is very popular with women, handsome and golden, and he is still very young, only 34 years old. I also pay attention to the maintenance of the body, and the muscle lines of the body are exercised. ”

"Okay, thanks, I'll go and join Sato first, and the body will be handed over to you."

“ok。”

After making an OK gesture, Asashi, who had his hands in his pockets, watched his friend leave, and then pushed the door open.

A few minutes later, Katsumi Uehara, who joined Miwako Sato, was the first to say what he had learned:

"Natsukikawa Jiya, 34 years old, ace in the emergency department, has a history of romance."

"As it happens, he's on duty tonight and is waiting for us in the office right now." Miwako Sato raised her mobile phone and pointed to Building 4, where the emergency center is located.