Chapter 1059: Hot Springs and Venison

"It's nothing, just a phone call," Akaso Kaze put away his phone and looked at Mikoto. "Dr. Mikoto, can you come with me?"

"Eh?"

"Go to Yuruka Hot Spring to take a look on-site."

Yuruka Hot Spring resort, also known as Deer Town. Akaso Kaze drove with Mikoto and Ai to investigate.

Passing through the country roads between the fields, there was a rare sense of leisure. It didn't look like they were here to investigate, but rather like a family coming for a vacation.

"The water here is no problem," Mikoto checked the water quality with a simple test strip at the hot spring pool by the road. "It's very close. Akaso-sama, why did you insist on calling me?"

"Leave professional matters to professionals. Don't you want to know the truth, Dr. Mikoto? But having said that, is there really venison sold here?"

Akaso Kaze looked around and turned back. "Let's go to the store that sells rice balls first."

"Store?"

"According to the results of your test, Calico Cat shouldn't have been dining at a restaurant, but bought a pre-made rice ball."

Akaso Kaze took Mikoto and Ai to investigate the nearby convenience stores one by one.

There were many stores in Yuruka Hot Spring, but venison was only available in restaurants.

"Since there is no venison for sale," Akaso Kaze frowned after understanding the situation, "maybe venison was added to other foods. A venison rice ball?"

"If it's a venison rice ball," the clerk who was asked remembered, "Iseya sells them. It's a local specialty, venison curry-flavored rice ball."

"Venison curry rice ball?" Akaso Kaze raised his eyebrows.

There was indeed curry in the gastric juice composition analysis.

"May I ask where Iseya is?"

"Keep going straight here, it's right at the intersection."

"Thanks."

"Akaso-sama," Mikoto followed Akaso Kaze to Iseya and asked with concern, "Did you solve the mystery of Calico Cat's death message?"

"If it was to save another girl, the first sentence should be location information."

Akaso Kaze looked at the calm and peaceful pastoral scenery, but his mind was full of the paper ball soaked in gastric juice and the sloppy, hurried handwriting on it.

"Imprisoned in a cold and dark place, constantly losing body temperature, and discovering paper and pen at the last moment. Judging by the situation at the time, writing must have been very difficult. She had to write while rubbing her hands, so she had to use the fewest words to write the key information. The first sentence, 'Snow Man'."

"How is it?" Mikoto looked at Akaso Kaze with concern.

"The murderer might be a man, so 'Snow' is Calico Cat's perception of the murderer. A refrigerated transport truck. Or it could be the murderer's online nickname."

Akaso Kaze and Ai looked at each other and slowly stated the possibility they had discussed.

"If Calico Cat really bought a venison curry rice ball at Iseya, the murderer's place of imprisonment and their own residence should be in this vicinity. When I came, I already contacted Officer Megure to notify the nearby Chozuka Town Police Station."

"There is indeed a venison curry-flavored rice ball."

At Iseya, Akaso Kaze quickly found the target after finding the auntie manager. It was Iseya's original Yuruka Hot Spring specialty, not sold anywhere else.

There were also potato salad sandwiches and cucumber lettuce. It almost completely matched.

"The portion is about twice what was in Calico Cat's stomach."

Mikoto took the rice ball and found the ingredient list on the back, staring blankly at Akaso Kaze. "Calico Cat and someone else shared it. There really is another girl?!"

"There definitely is."

Akaso Kaze took out the photos of Calico Cat and Matsukura Hana to confirm with the auntie, but didn't get any results. There were too many customers coming and going, and the landlady couldn't remember the two girls.

"But as for the cold storage, it's about two kilometers ahead, Nichiun Cold Storage," the auntie said strangely. "Why are you looking for cold storage?"

"Just looking for some things."

Leaving Iseya, Mikoto couldn't wait to go to Nichiun Cold Storage, so Akaso Kaze had to make a special trip.

As before, he didn't think the crime scene was the freight company's cold storage, but for the sake of safety, he still had to confirm it once.

The motorcycle drove on the fairly wide country road, and scattered houses could be seen among the surrounding fields and hills.

It was very similar to what he had guessed; only in such a situation where neighbors were far apart would it be convenient to imprison someone.

The murderer should also have his own refrigerated truck.

Akaso Kaze slowly sorted out the case in his mind and conceived the characters.

By using the internet to lure two girls with suicidal tendencies to such a rural place, the murderer needed a female identity with similar circumstances.

So "Snow" is more likely to be a nickname.

The death message "Snow Man's..." was followed by incomplete characters. Now thinking back, "home" is the most likely.

That is to say, the two girls were imprisoned in the murderer's home. Calico Cat was frozen to death alone, and swallowed the plea for help before she died.

Afterwards, the body was taken by the murderer to the home of Sato Masakazu, who committed collective charcoal suicide, and disguised as a joint suicide.

The significance of doing this, he didn't know if it was the pursuit of a so-called perfect crime.

If it was, the other girl should be safe for the time being.

It's a pity that Officer Mouri went to investigate the website administrator and there is no news yet. It's very difficult to find the murderer from the network side, and the difficulty of finding the exact location in the countryside is still not small.

However, judging from the last meal Calico Cat bought at Iseya, the location of imprisonment is close to Iseya...