Chapter 103 - True Name and Reality 26 {Combined 46/47} (105-106, 107-109: Higashidate's Confession Begins 2)
Meanwhile, the interrogation continued in the interrogation room.
"So, tell me in detail the contents of that call from the brother."
At Kusaka's words,
"You don't learn either, do you! Don't be so hasty! Some memories are clear, while others are blurry, and I'm talking while somehow remembering things! It's not something that happened recently! Can't you give me a little time to think?"
he got angry at being rushed. As expected, the reaction to being rushed is different between Kusaka and Onga. It's probably because Onga's fundamental approach is softer. However, he immediately continues the story, perhaps thinking he was in the wrong.
"The brother... I think it was at the end of '94, the year before... he finally registered his marriage with a woman he'd been seeing for a long time... she was much younger than me, so I never called her 'sister-in-law', but since she got pregnant, he finally took the plunge. And in the summer, yes, the summer of the year of the incident, a daughter was born. He wanted at least his daughter to grow up properly, so he named her Mami, written with the characters for 'truth'. Even for a yakuza, when a child is born, parental feelings sprout just like anyone else. I don't have that experience, but I can somehow understand. He doted on her quite a bit... But you see, ironically, the brother, who had become a parent, immediately after that, finally had the need to kill (T/N: original uses 'bara-su', slang for kill) someone; what a cruel story, right? Naturally, the brother was also an executive class yakuza. He'd been in the care of the police several times, but when it comes to actual killing, his heart was naturally quite heavy... especially since his cute daughter had just been born... So, in the heat of the moment while drunk, he called me from Kitami and grumbled about it. Originally, he absolutely shouldn't have mentioned it, but he must have been quite overwhelmed..."
Saying so, he closed his eyes with his mouth in a straight line and stopped talking for a moment.
For a while, silence enveloped the interrogation room. However, it was transmitted even through the one-way mirror that the tension had only become more condensed, and the air in the room was also taut. Then, saying "Umm" as if breathing out, Higashidate resumed speaking as if slowly pushing out the heavy air.
"According to the brother's story, he was told by Boss Kamikawa, 'It's a direct order from Takigawa of the Aoi-ikka. I have no choice but to ask you.' Our group did meth, but we were a group that had no connection to killing, so the brother also honestly didn't know why such a story came to him at first. Even when I heard that story from the brother, I didn't understand it either. But as the brother heard the story from Kamikawa, he realized that was exactly what Aoi was aiming for. In the sense that it would be hard for the police to trace... And he thought they probably also wanted to see the loyalty of the Sunpu side. Our side was making quite a bit of money from meth, and to be blunt, we didn't really need the Aoi sign, and at the same time, the treatment was poor compared to the amount of the tribute. We became part of the Aoi umbrella—not recently, but it wasn't that long ago either—so we didn't have much of a voice compared to the amount of the tribute. So, it seems there were occasionally stories of trouble from before. Of course, the Shiun Association was apparently in a similar situation, but I didn't know at that time that Kagami had received instructions along with the brother and was with him in Kitami."
Higashidate spoke slowly and quietly, but the story, which revealed further details, was a vivid content that contradicted that. Nishida and the others, who were watching the progress intently in the back, were also buzzing.
"And while we were talking about various things, the brother suddenly started crying on the phone... I had never seen or heard of the brother crying before, so I was surprised. But conversely, I immediately thought that now might be the last chance for me to repay the brother. The brother also didn't try to accept me taking his place at first, but in the end, he gave in. Of course, there might have been a feeling of being saved somewhere... Needless to say, I didn't have the qualification to blame him, nor did I have the intention to do so..."
Here, Higashidate clearly suggested that he had committed the murder as a substitute for Ohara.
"In other words, you did the killing instead of Ohara, who received the order?"
Kusaka confirmed in a slightly high-pitched voice.
"Yeah, that's what I'm saying, isn't it? You're persistent too..."
At this time, unlike the content of his statement, Higashidate admitted it in a voice so small it was hard to hear.
"So Higashidate's involvement in the incident was an unexpected event after all..."
Nishida silently nodded at Yoshimura's words muttered beside him. The investigators had felt a sense of incongruity about a man who was planning to leave the group being engaged in a major mission just before (certainly, there was a possibility of making him do a killing as a condition for leaving the group, but it wasn't a crime caused by the kind of conflict between yakuza groups), but if he had been involved in the incident instead of Ohara, who was promoted further after that, then all the doubts around that would be resolved.
Not only the Aoi-ikka but also the direct Sunpu Group itself must not have recognized that fact. That's probably why Higashidate was able to leave the group so smoothly. However, beyond that realization, Nishida's mind was going to the story beyond that. In some cases, he thought he might need to give specific instructions to the two who were hearing the story, but he trusted Onga and decided to endure and watch for now.
"So, did the group know about that?"
Onga confirmed what Nishida and the others had already guessed. Onga himself might have known, but in any case, it's not bad to confirm it firmly.
"No, of course they didn't know at all! If they had known, I wouldn't have been able to leave either. After all, if they knew that a guy who was on bad terms with the boss had done such a thing, from their perspective, the idea that they had a weakness over him would also hold. Only me, the brother, and Kagami, whom I met in Kitami, knew that I had joined 'as a substitute for the brother'."
Here, the reason why Higashidate, when listing the people who knew he had participated in the incident, added an explanation by saying "as a substitute for the brother" even though it was normally unnecessary, would be understood later, but no one had noticed the meaning yet and just let it slide. And Higashidate continued to speak.
"In the first place, if it were known that a person who was fed up with being a yakuza and was leaving the group was involved in such a story, it would be a big problem even from Aoi's perspective, right? And the brother's face would be completely ruined. On the other hand, Kagami had apparently crossed over to North Korea for meth deals with the brother several times before, so they were apparently quite close. Such a thing might have led to the selection of those two... I think the brother was first and Kagami was after... Well, as far as I could see, I didn't think he was a very decent man, so it was quite a surprise that he was close to a type like the brother. Kagami also apparently had no experience of killing (T/N: 'bara-su') until then, but he didn't seem to feel particularly bad about it, nor did he seem scared. Rather, he even seemed to be elated because he'd be promoted to executive if he succeeded. He's a villain to the core, that guy."
After saying that, Higashidate said,
"Ah, you're saying I don't have the qualification to say that? That's true."
and self-deprecatingly laughed by himself. In response, the two who were hearing the story didn't react at all. Rather than such a thing, their minds must have been on knowing the truth. Nishida was the same.
However, a big question arose in Nishida from this testimony. In this Shiun Association building explosion incident, it should be seen that there was an intention to finish off the executives of the Shiun Association and the Sunpu Group who were gathered there all at once. And that purpose, adding Takagaki's story, was a warning for the betrayal involving the approach to the Eda-gumi against the Aoi-ikka, and he thought they had destroyed both organizations, which were the intermediate instruction roles from the Aoi-ikka to the perpetrators, so that even if the perpetrators were to spill the beans (even if the fact that Higashidate had already been arrested hadn't leaked at this point), they couldn't 'trace back' to the Aoi-ikka.
However, as long as Higashidate's testimony is taken as true, it seems that not only the Aoi-ikka but also Shiun and Sunpu didn't even notice that the captured Higashidate had become the perpetrator. If so, rather than silencing the intermediate instruction role, didn't they simply try to silence the perpetrators along with them, knowing or suspecting that the Sunpu perpetrator (namely Ohara) was among the executives? Such a possibility emerged.
And that would mean that the Aoi-ikka, regardless of whether they knew about the arrest of the true perpetrator Higashidate, had no interest in it in the first place (because the side that blew them up would have mistakenly thought that the perpetrator was Ohara, or although they didn't know the name, they mistakenly thought he was an executive who still remained in the Sunpu Group). This was a good sign because it would be material to completely deny the "leak of investigation information" that Nishida had been worried about.
"So, even after leaving the group, there were no big changes in the brother's appearance as I occasionally kept in touch with him, so it seems the story didn't leak from Kagami either. In the first place, even from my perspective at the time, I felt that Kagami himself felt pity for the brother's circumstances. Even Kagami, who was chosen from Shiun, seemed to feel that the selection for Sunpu was strange. Neither of them had experience in killing (T/N: 'bara-su'), and more than that, the brother's living environment at the time..."
Higashidate lamented while twisting his neck strongly, still not convinced.
"But even so, since no type of group member who could kill without hesitation was found in Sunpu at the time, it must have been a process of elimination called reliability. There would have been no meaning for Kamikawa to harass the brother, even if he were to harass me, and if he made someone he disliked do it and was betrayed, it would be even worse... Ah, that's right, setting that aside, the fact that there was no change in the brother's appearance means that his position within the group didn't worsen. Of course he was promoted, and his voice within the group seemed to have increased. But in terms of the relationship with me, the positions suddenly reversed. Even if I didn't think so, the brother seemed to feel he owed me a considerable debt. Even though I didn't request anything, several million yen were always transferred from the brother to me every year... To be honest, there were times when I needed various things, so it really helped, but I think it's certain that the brother, as a result, carried another heavy burden... I also found out from a call from the brother that Kagami had been killed. The brother had also been worried because he hadn't been able to get in touch with him since before that..."
Higashidate, who answered like that, sniffled again as if to suppress his tears.
"But even if it was someone you owed a debt to, didn't it take a lot of resolve to act as a substitute for murder? You didn't have that kind of experience either."
"Of course, I won't lie and say there was no hesitation at all! But you see... I'm a single man with no kids or wife... My lousy father was already in the other world. My mother was destined to die. My siblings' whereabouts are unknown... To be honest, unlike the brother, I didn't have anything to protect in the future. So I prioritized repaying the debt. After that, the fact that the brother was promoted as a result of the achievement was a joy for me. But I think for the brother, as I said earlier, that as a result became another heavy burden."
"But if you were planning to quit the group for your dying mother, there's no meaning in doing a killing, is there?"
To Kusaka's repeated interrogation,
"I don't deny that. I thought about that too. But you see... that side will be fine as long as it's not found out until my mother dies. If she can pass away feeling good when she goes to the other world, that's enough. If I just quit the group and look after my mother by her side, wouldn't that be fine? I told myself that. But you see, as a result, if you ask if I didn't regret it... I wonder... it's no use saying it now, so there's no point in thinking about it."
he replied with a weak laugh.
Kusaka didn't seem to be convinced at all even after hearing that, but for Higashidate, it must have meant that as long as he could show apparent filial piety, the truth behind it didn't matter. Nishida couldn't think that was right either, but at the same time, he was in a state of mind where he might be able to understand it if it were just logic without ethics.
"And you decided to go to Kitami, right? Do you remember the date you departed or the transportation?"
When Onga prompted him to move the story forward,
"As for the date, I was already on a plane to Memanbetsu, was it? From Haneda the next day."
he answered immediately.
"The next day means the day after the Tenno Sho, right?"
"I'm not clear on the date itself, but from the flow, it should be like that. And from Memanbetsu, I took a taxi and arrived at Kitami Station where I met the brother. Since it was already night, we ate near the station... The brother hardly ate anything. He looked a bit thin and lacked energy. Then we headed to the place where the two were hiding. I met Kagami there."
"Do you know that place?"
Higashidate, who was asked that by Onga, was stuck for a moment. Then he glared at the two who were hearing the story and suddenly wore a fearless smile. And,
"I don't know if you guys will believe this story, but even if you find out, will anything happen?"
he began to say.
"No, you don't have to judge on your own! We'll decide whether to believe it or not, so just speak!"
Kusaka tried to return from Higashidate's pace to their own pace, if anything. Hearing that, Higashidate wore a somewhat mocking expression and said,
"Then I'll say it without reservation! The place where me, the brother, and Kagami were hiding for a while until after the incident was that Oshima Kaiji's office. Even for me at that time, I had heard various rumors about the entanglement between the Aoi-ikka and the Minyu Party people, but combined with the story the brother heard from Kamikawa, I realized for the first time then that the source who brought this killing story to Aoi was Oshima. I also wondered if it could be true when I saw the brother trying to enter Oshima's office easily, even if it was from the back, but the brother just said 'Get in quickly' normally, so I immediately understood the situation."
he said it nonchalantly. Although the preamble was exaggerated, the way he said it was normal, but the content was never inferior to the exaggerated preamble.
Section Chief Mitani, who had been listening calmly until now, even grabbed Nishida's arm with all his might and shook it. Nishida also concentrated his gaze on Higashidate as if peering into the one-way mirror.
"Wa-wait a minute! That, that's really, r-really true, isn't it!?"
Onga was also quite surprised, and his words weren't coming out well.
"Yeah, it's true! That's why I said it earlier, didn't I? That I doubted whether you'd believe it..."
He looked upward as if to say, "See?" and was appalled. However, the investigators didn't disbelieve him; rather, it was because the information they wanted had come in so easily that they behaved that way, which Higashidate didn't seem to notice.
That said, it's natural. We hadn't even interrogated Higashidate about Oshima's involvement in the incident. Far from that, we hadn't even clearly shown the investigators as a whole that Oshima was involved in the incident. Only some investigators and leaders, such as Nishida, Yoshimura, Section 1 Head Mitani, and Criminal Investigation Director Koyabu, directly grasped the "final target."
Of course, in reality, the fact that the investigators who were supposed not to have been told were also somehow aware of it was a tacit understanding among everyone. That's exactly why Team Leader Onga and Senior Staff Kusaka were so deeply shaken by Higashidate's statement.
Nishida regained his composure and ordered Yoshimura,
"Go and tell those two to suspend the interrogation once!"
Yoshimura said nothing, opened the door vigorously, and went out.
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To Team Leader Onga and Senior Staff Kusaka, who came in following Yoshimura, Nishida said,
"I haven't officially admitted it, and I haven't explicitly stated it to you two, but I'll say it on the premise that you probably know to some extent. The mastermind behind the shooting incident is Oshima Kaiji; even in the investigation headquarters (T/N: 'chouba', police slang) seven years ago, it was speculated at the upper levels. However, I never dreamed it would come out in this way; that's my honest opinion. You two were probably surprised not because you didn't know, but because you felt the same way as I did, right?"
he confirmed.
"Exactly as you say; we had recognized it to some extent as a rumor, but to think it would come out in this way... I'm as surprised as you are, Assistant Section Chief."
Kusaka answered while standing at attention. After hearing that, Nishida said,
"I'm sorry, but could everyone except the Regional HQ and the station's senior staff level and above who are here wait in the break room of the Kitami Station (T/N: 'koko')? Of course, absolutely do not mention what just happened. Absolutely! I'm sorry, but I'm counting on you!"
he conveyed. He felt the need for a meeting at the top level of the investigators and at the same time feared information leakage. If the investigation information leaks outside, there's a possibility that the 'evidence' that connects directly to Oshima, which we've finally obtained, will be erased. Depending on the contents of the interrogation from now on, there's a possibility that a 'revelation of a secret' (T/N: 'himitsu no bakuro', details only the perpetrator could know) will come out from Higashidate's testimony, so he paid attention to that.
After that, he also called Matsuura, the Section Chief of the Detective Division at the Kitami Station, and Koyabu, the Criminal Investigation Director of the Kitami Regional HQ, who weren't there, and while confirming Higashidate's state through the one-way mirror, they discussed the future policy in low voices.
Sanada, who had been working on the verification earlier, also returned and reported that the date of the 1995 Autumn Tenno Sho was October 29th and that the testimony and the result that Sakura Chitose O won matched.
"Because of the recent Shiun Association explosion, I thought tracing the game of telephone was originally difficult and had become even more difficult, but if the Oshima side was also directly involved in the shooting incident, it means we've reached the 'source' all at once, doesn't it?"
When Koyabu asked Nishida, he replied,
"I can't conclude now to what extent we can prove Oshima's own involvement just by the fact that Oshima Kaiji's office was the hideout, but among what I've been thinking, it's also true that the 'main castle' (T/N: 'honmaru', the core target) is approaching before our eyes in the most ideal way... no, I want to think so."
"Even so, this development was completely unpredictable..."
Section Chief Mitani also spoke with surprise.
"However, at this stage, Higashidate hasn't told a story that can be verified, right?"
To Koyabu's question,
"Yes. I thought it was necessary to organize things once before hearing various things, so I'm doing this. It's only Higashidate's testimony. However, since we haven't mentioned Oshima's name once during the interrogation so far, I see it as having a certain degree of credibility."
Nishida replied.
"I see. Because it's a confession from a situation where there was no necessity. In that sense, can it be said that the probability is high... However, if possible, I want a revelation of a secret."
Koyabu nodded while crossing his arms.
"Also, there's one more reason why the credibility is high."
"What is it, Nishida? Explain it properly!"
Mitani immediately bit at the statement. When Nishida was prompted, he began to speak,
"Actually, since I was assigned to Kitami (T/N: 'kocchi'), I think you know that I've been re-confirming various things about the investigation situation at that time with my team. In that, while reviewing the situation of the road checkpoints immediately after the shooting incident and the materials during the investigation for about a week after the incident, there was something that bothered me a bit."
"Something that bothered you?"
"Section Chief Mitani, yes. The checkpoints were first in the form of blocking the entrance and exit roads of the city, so that people couldn't get out of the city. Yoshimura and I were in Engaru at the time, but they even did checkpoints on the roads in the Engaru jurisdiction, and the possibility that they escaped outside Kitami City immediately after the occurrence—I won't say it's zero—but it's probably quite low. And from there, it was carried out in a way that narrowed the investigation net further into the city. Regarding this, as one of the conceivable theories, I think there was basically no problem. At the same time, after that, regarding the vicinity of the crime scene, they executed a 'roller operation' (T/N: thorough search) and door-to-door inquiries, focusing on housing, apartments, and mansions where single-person households might live and that wouldn't attract much attention. But the culprit wasn't found."
"I grasp that point too. And?"
Koyabu immediately demanded the continuation.
"While looking at the map of the central part of Kitami City, there was a place that caught my eye. It's Oshima Kaiji's office. Not to mention the Kitami Kyoritsu Hospital, the distance itself wasn't that far from where the culprit abandoned the first car. I thought that maybe they stayed there for a while and waited until the police's hand loosened; while looking at the materials, I once thought about that. To be precise, it was only to the extent that such a thing might be possible..."
"I see... Indeed, no matter how much the upper levels suspected Oshima's involvement, it's quite reckless to do a raid (T/N: 'gasa-ire') based on the idea that they were harboring the fugitives directly in Oshima's office. This is a story of a level where it's unavoidable rather than negligence."
Mitani also spoke in a resigned way while listening to Nishida's story.
"Yes. Of course, I don't think it was an investigation error either. However, it can be said that they brilliantly struck that blind spot. Thinking that way, doesn't Higashidate's statement that 'they had been hiding there since before the incident' gain quite a bit of credibility? This is the second basis."
Nishida explained as if talking to the top two of the Regional HQ's Detective Division.
"I understand. The problem is that each and every content of the interrogation from now on will become more important, right?"
"Director, I think exactly as you say. At the same time, regarding the contents from now on, it will be necessary to handle them quite carefully. The more it's a revelation of a secret, if it's known to the outside, the higher the possibility that measures will be taken in advance."
"If so, from now on, we should make it a situation where only a limited number of people within the investigation headquarters can be involved, right?"
"Yes, I think so."
Nishida replied to Koyabu, and compared to his voice until then, he said it quite strongly.
"For now, let's cut off the interrogation for today. I think it's safe to resume in earnest from tomorrow after carefully considering the contents of the interrogation within today, but what do you think?"
Everyone, including Nishida, agreed to Mitani's proposal. And instructing Yoshimura, he explained the future policy to the entire leadership group and at the same time imposed a gag order. Then, they held a meeting about the policy for the interrogation with only the main members, in the form of working overtime.
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"Oshima's office is a building like a small 4-story building, so where in there they were hiding, the contents of that confession also seem to be important. The floor area is also considerable, and it's only the 4th floor that has one room per floor. It seems to be a large room where you can also do karaoke. It seems to be used for social gatherings and meetings of supporters."
Yoshimura spoke while looking at the materials about Oshima's office that he had urgently obtained from within the police.
About three years ago, there was a threat close to a prank that seemed to be for political reasons addressed to Oshima's office, and the Security Division of the Kitami Station guarded it just in case, and at that time, rough information about the inside of the office had been provided by the office side. They are using that.
By the way, since Oshima took over Kaito Takumi's base, Abashiri is originally his home turf among home turfs. However, Kitami, which is close to Abashiri within the electoral district, is a city with a larger population scale, and there are many powerful supporting companies such as the Isaka Group, and for such reasons, the scale of the office in Kitami was made much larger.
The office in Abashiri was a 2-story building that remained old, but the one in Kitami was rebuilt as a 4-story building about 17 years ago. The number of office staff placed there is also more than in Abashiri. It seems he had already shifted the focus of his power from Abashiri to Kitami since 30 years ago. Even so, he still seems to advocate Abashiri as his hometown for now, but in reality, Kitami could be called his hometown now.
"That's right. It'll be information that only someone who has been inside would ever know. Good point of view."
Koyabu also agreed with this opinion.
"Also, there's something that bothers me quite a bit."
Mitani cut in.
"In the shooting incident, none of the three—Kagami, Higashidate, and Ohara—had a 'prior' (T/N: criminal record) related to handguns, and naturally they had no experience in killing. However, the incident needs to be decided in one shot. If so, isn't it a mission that's too much of a gamble? That part remains unsatisfying to me."
"I also think that's a quite important point. In the sense that it's hard to link to the incident, I think it can be considered that a double trap was set: on top of the Shiun Association and Sunpu being groups that are hard to link to killing, the perpetrators are also hard to link to killing. This point should have been a slight problem during the investigation seven years ago too. As Higashidate was also speaking, it's probably the Aoi-ikka's idea. However, conversely, using 'unaccustomed' perpetrators becomes a risk, so there were pros and cons. We need to have Higashidate explain properly how they thought about that, or how they acted. It's hard to imagine they did it haphazardly."
Nishida also agreed with Mitani and expanded on it.
"After that, we'll also have to draw out what kind of role Ohara, who wasn't involved in the killing, played. Also, regarding information about Ohara, we need to get information from the responsible jurisdiction in Tokyo or the Organized Crime division of the main office (Metropolitan Police Department). We'll also need to have Ohara's family interviewed."
Onga also proposed reservedly.
"Even so, to think the culprits were in Oshima's office since before the incident occurred... Oshima is truly an audacious fellow."
Kusaka spoke ill of him around the time the policy for the meeting was exhausted.
"If a member of parliament does this, it's unavoidable that we couldn't lay a hand on him. However, to think he'd do it so blatantly. I couldn't believe it until I heard Higashidate's testimony."
Koyabu stared at the whiteboard next to his seat and clicked his tongue loudly while persistently fiddling with the tip of his nose.
"But, if it comes to this, it's that, isn't it? Is it possible that this gas explosion was also an instruction from Oshima, bypassing the Aoi-ikka?"
To Yoshimura's words, Nishida said,
"Unfortunately, the result of the investigation so far is that we can't say it's absolutely not the case."
and bit his lip.
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Wednesday morning, July 17th. The interrogation of Higashidate's involvement in the incident seven years ago began in earnest. It's a detailed hearing from around the time they entered Oshima Kaiji's office in Kitami on October 31st. The ones in charge were Kusaka and Onga, continuing from yesterday, but they had taken a stance where Nishida and Yoshimura could take over immediately if necessary.
Also, rough information about Ohara had come in. Although he had three prior convictions, he had no prior (record) related to violent crimes. His reputation as a yakuza was also on the good side, and as Higashidate said, he seemed to have a certain degree of personal magnetism. He was a "quiet" type of yakuza, and it was certain that he wasn't the type who could actively be involved in killing.
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"I don't have time to talk about unnecessary things, so I'll go straight to the main subject; is that okay? First, when you first went to the office with the senior brother Ohara, how did you enter? And when did you recognize it as Oshima's office?"
Kusaka opened the conversation. For a while, Kusaka will devote himself to the pursuit, and the plan is for Onga to support if there's any problem.
"We entered the building from what looked like a back entrance through a parking lot after entering something like an alley from a big street. As for knowing it was Oshima's office, you'd know if there's such a huge sign! Especially after that, none of the three of us who were in the office specifically mentioned it was Oshima's office, but it was because it was obvious. That day, partly because it was late at night, there was no one in the office except Kagami. The 4th floor there was a large room, quite a spacious room. While we were there, it seems they made it so that no one could enter or exit except for the person in a high position in the office—probably a veteran secretary? I think he was an old man in his 50s—while people were in the office."
"You don't remember the name of the 'secretary'?, right?"
Kusaka confirmed immediately.
" I remember the face, but I think they went out of their way not to tell me the name. You'd understand that if you're a detective (T/N: 'deka'), right?"
What Higashidate wanted to say was probably that not giving unnecessary information would reduce the risk of discovery. That said, since it was obvious he was a person from Oshima's office, I don't know to what extent it was meaningful...
And needless to say, it was necessary to present a list and photos of the people who were working in Oshima's office at that time and confirm who it was. Also, Nishida, who was listening to this, was smiling inwardly. From the very beginning, detailed information about the inside of the office, which only someone who has actually been there would know, came out. If we can go like this until the end, the possibility of grasping the starting point for a raid on Oshima's office will increase.
Furthermore, Nishida understood that the reason why Higashidate, in yesterday's interrogation, when listing the people who knew he had participated in the incident, went out of his way to add a note saying "knowing that I participated as a substitute for Ohara," was because this "old man who seemed to be a secretary" naturally also knew about Higashidate's participation itself. However, it must mean that the person who seemed to be a secretary didn't know that Higashidate had come to Kitami to be a "substitute" for Ohara.
"What kind of introduction did that 'old man' make when Ohara brought you? Since your coming was decided suddenly, he didn't know, right?"
"The brother apparently explained to the old man on the day I came, 'The original hitman from our group is being dispatched. I was here as a substitute because the original hitman couldn't participate, but he's suddenly become able to do it.' Until then, he must have thought the brother was the hitman, but even after that was denied by the brother, the old man didn't seem to pry into things one by one. Anyway, since we were acting on the premise that it's better not to know various things about each other, he seemed to settle for 'If the other party says so, then that's how it is.' Even if I didn't tell him to keep it quiet, it's certain that the story that I executed it hadn't gone to Sunpu after that. For them, they probably didn't care as long as I executed what was requested."
Here too, the "avoidance of interference" by both sides for risk reduction happened to contribute to the fact that the person who seemed to be a secretary didn't convey the major information that Higashidate had taken the place of Ohara as the perpetrator to the dispatching Sunpu Group or the source Aoi-ikka. And the person who seemed to be a secretary probably misunderstood that Higashidate was the original hitman and Ohara, who had come to Kitami first, was the substitute, rather than Higashidate coming to Kitami as a substitute for Ohara. Nishida sensed that was exactly what led to the expression yesterday: "Only me, the brother, and Kagami, whom I met in Kitami, knew that I had joined 'as a substitute for the brother'."
However, the story doesn't stop there. The fact that that information wasn't transmitted reinforces the theory that the Aoi-ikka still mistakenly thought that the perpetrator was the Sunpu executive Ohara (or an executive who still remained in the Sunpu Group, although they didn't know the name). If so, it becomes more certain to see that in this explosion, which is seen as both a warning and silencing, they aimed to silence not only the 'intermediary' role but also the perpetrator himself.
Even if they knew that the perpetrator was Higashidate, silencing is possible by cutting off the middle, so the fact that the leak of investigation information about Higashidate's arrest cannot be completely denied, but Nishida stepped on the idea that the possibility is probably quite low.
"From what I'm hearing, it seems you were mostly hiding on the 4th floor during the day until you left Kitami, but what were you doing during that time? And even if it were at night, if people with the appearance of you guys were frequently coming and going, the surrounding residents might become suspicious. How about that point?"
"During the day, I was watching TV, looking at weekly magazines, and then taking naps. I spent quite a bit of time idling. There's also a toilet on the 4th floor, so well, there was no problem. As I said earlier, it seems they made it so that no one except the old man could come up to the upper floor when we were there."
"Weren't you concerned about the sound of the TV you were watching?"
"As for the large room, according to what the old man said, it seems it was a space that could be used for various meetings and such by gathering Oshima's supporters, but for karaoke, it was like a school music room, you know? That kind of room where there are many holes in the wall and it can be firmly soundproofed. So, he guaranteed that there would be no problem at all as long as the sound wasn't made too loud. He said the sound of karaoke was at a level that hardly leaked downstairs. However, he persistently said, 'But even so, absolutely do not do karaoke. The sound will leak a little.'"
As Higashidate said, information had indeed come in that the 4th floor was a room with soundproofing equipment, and this point also matched the testimony. There was no doubt that Higashidate had obtained backup for having infiltrated the 4th floor space of Oshima Kaiji's office.
"I understand the actions during the day. So what were you doing at night? And tell me about the meals."
"For meals, I ate things that the old man or other collaborators who were there procured at night, divided into morning, lunch, and dinner. There were some things the old man brought as snacks during the day so as not to be found out, but basically we obtained them at night. After that, at night, we had those collaborators buy necessary things, so we hardly ever went out. As you say, the brother and Kagami were also instructed not to go out because it would be conspicuous."
"Wa-wait a minute! Setting aside the veteran office person who seemed to be a secretary, what kind of people were those collaborators?"
As expected, there is no interrogation officer who wouldn't bite at these words. The investigation leadership watching the situation from the back also watched that part (T/N: 'kudari') with bated breath.
"As I said earlier, it's the style not to pry into each other's affairs too much, so I didn't clearly ask about the other party's identity. So, I don't clearly know the names and such, and to be honest, there are parts I don't remember. Please understand that point."
"Do you remember the faces?"
To Kusaka's rapid-fire interrogation,
"Calm down a bit... I might know if I see them, but before that, don't you want to hear information about them?"
Higashidate said with a wry smile and threw his legs forward.
"Kusaka, don't be hasty."
The moment Nishida muttered that behind the one-way mirror,
"My mistake. Please speak at your pace."
Onga cut in well. Even if he says he's "not good at hearing stories," after all, he has much more life experience than Kusaka. He has no choice but to have him keep the offended Higashidate in a situation where it's easy to talk by devoting himself to being a listener as if to coax him.