Escape - 8
< Machine Translation Version >
Bicycle race
On the day of the car accident, Mitsuru Takagi was at a bicycle race track in Odawara. He had told his company that he was going to the bank to raise money, but in fact he was trying to raise more money at the bicycle race track. He had a long history of bicycle racing and had a network of information. He had information about the arranged race of the day, so he bought a ticket worth 2 million yen for a one-point bet.
He was not that popular. Mitsuru waited patiently for the race to start and stared at the monitor as soon as all the competitors started at once. The runner she wanted was almost at the back of the pack, but in the middle of the race, she moved up to a little higher than the middle of the pack, and then, just before the finish line, she swept past from the outside and finished first. Mitsuru was so happy that she was jumping up and down on the spot. Immediately, Mitsuru called his company to inform them that he would be going directly home that day, and at the same time called his mistress Yuko, who was preparing for the opening of the snack bar, and asked her to pick him up at Odawara station. It was already around 4:00 pm.
To avoid meeting people, Mitsuru took a cab from the bicycle race track to Odawara Station, where he had a cup of coffee at a coffee shop in front of the Odawara Station and looked at his winning ticket. Since automatic pickup is not available for large refunds, he planned to ask a proxy to pick up the ticket for him. Mitsuru was thinking that the agent would be Yuko. Gambling money is also subject to taxes. If he wanted to reduce the tax on the high refunds, he thought it would be better if his current income was small. Yuko files a blue tax return as a sole proprietor, but every year it should be as if she had no profit.
Soon after, Yuko showed up at Odawara station in a light car. Mitsuru, who could be seen through the window of the coffee shop, paid the bill at the coffee shop and headed straight for Yuko's car.
"You're early."
"Because you get mad when I'm late."
"Well, don't be so sullen. Actually, I got it. Today."
"What?"
"It's a bicycle race. And the odds are multiplied by 21. Isn't that great?"
"That's amazing. I wonder if I can remodel my bar."
"Don't be ridiculous. I'd like to close your bar and make some money."
"I won't quit the bar. It's my store. You made the down payment, but I'm the one who's making the money after that. Including your allowance. Aren't you"
"All right, all right. I'll at least buy you a necklace. That's all right. You've got to get me in a better mood."
"I was like, Hmmm. Well, I don't have a choice. Okay, okay. But it's a diamond necklace. “
Mitsuru's company has been in the black but has been in financial difficulties for several years due to investment failures. He has managed to get by by cheating on taxes, but he knows that if he does not get his books in order soon, the company will be in serious trouble. Although he entrusted his younger brother Yuzuru with the management of the company, on the surface, Mitsuru was supposed to be in charge of everything. Even within the company, no one knows about the mishandling. The only documents that were hidden by Yuzuru's hand were those that indicated that Mitsuru had instructed him to do so. In order to nullify the contents, Mitsuru believed that he had to make up the accumulated sales discrepancies.
For this reason, Mitsuru had hoped to make up about 100 million yen by the end of the month, but as soon as he had some extra money, he was tempted to spend it. This character probably drove him to make a reckless investment. After an hour's drive, we arrived at Yuko's house. This was a house in the countryside, less than a ten-minute drive from the scene of the accident. Mitsuru had chosen this location because the house next door was more than a ten-minute walk away, and there were no streetlights and no one would see her coming and going at night. It is only a 20-minute drive to town, so there is no particular inconvenience. Also, although Yuko is a mom who runs a snack bar, she does not drink alcohol, so she is able to commute to work by car.
Once they were both inside the house, Yuko called the store and told the girls that she would not be available that day and instructed them to close the store and take a cab home as soon as the customers were gone. They then prepared dinner for Mitsuru. Meanwhile, Mitsuru took a shower and relaxed on the living room sofa, drinking beer. It was almost 7:00 pm. As if remembering, Mitsuru called his younger brother Yuzuru.
"Hello, it's me. I'm sorry, but I need you to take my car over here. I'll have Yuko take you home when she gets here.”
"What are you talking about, brother? I have a suspended license."
"Don't worry about it. My driver's license is in the car. You won't recognize me at night."
"Well, I don't blame you. What time do you want me there?"
"Well, bring it to me about before eleven o'clock at night. I want to use it tomorrow."
"All right. I'll see you later."
"Take care of it.”
Mitsuru's car is parked in the garage of his house. His brother Yuzuru lived in another house on the property of Mitsuru's home area. If anything happened to him, he would be sent on an errand. The spare key to his older brother Mitsuru's car was always kept at Yuzuru's house. He didn't want his wife, Satomi, to pursue him in any way.
It was also Yuzuru who was in charge of all the company's accounting behind the scenes. However, Yuzuru made it appear within the company as if he was giving instructions directly to the accounting department. Yuzuru had once restrained his older brother Mitsuru from increasing the company's capital by taking part in a dangerous investment plan, but Mitsuru proceeded with the investment plan on his own initiative, and now the company is in a very bad situation. He had to do something to buy back his shares from the investment company. If they did not do so, management control might be transferred to the investment company, and there was a strong possibility that accounting irregularities would come to light. Mitsuru was anxious to restore the company to its former sound operations with the brothers.
"I guess I should have made Yuzuru the president. It's too late now."
to be continued
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日本語版(原作)は、kindleで販売中です。
The original (Japanese) is on sale at Amazon kindle
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