kscans

Chapter 104 - Name and Reality 27 {Combined 48/49} (110-112, 113-115: Higashidate's Confession Begins 3 — Involvement of Two New People)

"Seriously, I'm counting on you! I'm trying to reveal everything as revenge for my Aniki who was taken out by Aoi! Keep up with me! You've been too restless since yesterday, especially you!"

To be honest, Higashidate's remark, likely directed at Kusaka, was utterly unforgivable considering the three people murdered by this man. However, brandishing such short-sighted justice at this moment would achieve no fundamental resolution. Nishida and the others, and likely Onga and his partner facing the suspect, surely felt strongly about it, but they endured in silence, trying to draw out the rest of the story.

"Yeah, you're right... I believe we fully understand your feelings," Onga said, squeezing the words out as he struggled to maintain his composure.

"Good, as long as you get it... Then, the continuation! So, those guys looked to be in their early twenties, like they'd just finished high school. There were two of them, and they looked modern—light brown hair. When we met at the office at night, they were always in plain clothes, but they had a delinquent vibe; they didn't feel like decent college students or ordinary salarymen. However, based on their conversation, my Aniki and I remembered thinking they were probably workers in the construction industry or something," Higashidate began to spill detailed information.

"What was the reason for that judgment? What kind of conversation was it?" Kusaka asked, sounding genuinely curious.

"Back before I went to Kitami, the old man told me that when those guys were first introduced to Aniki and the others in the room, they said something like, 'Even though it's not an overhang, the room feels remarkably spacious.'"

"Overhang?"

The two investigators in front of him uttered the same question almost simultaneously.

"'Overhang' is a term in the construction industry. It refers to a structure where the upper floors are built wider than the floors below. Like the upper floor is jutting out. To put it simply, you know, there was that Cho-something Bank?"

"The LTCB? The Long-Term Credit Bank that went bankrupt?"

"Yeah, yeah, that's the one! Their building was on the news all the time, and it looked strangely unbalanced, right? That's what an overhang is!" Higashidate nodded vigorously at Kusaka's confirmation.



The Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan, known as the LTCB, was established in 1952 after the war as a so-called special bank. Unlike ordinary banks, it did not lend out collected deposits but instead issued bonds called financial debentures and lent out the funds obtained in exchange. Because it aggressively pursued real-estate-related lending during the bubble era, it was ultimately heavily impacted by the bubble's collapse.

After 1997, when Yamaichi Securities and Hokkaido Takushoku Bank failed and the management of financial institutions deteriorated, the LTCB accepted an injection of public funds. However, the management engaged in window-dressing in 1998, which triggered a sharp drop in the stock price. Management fell into a state of confusion, and although rescue measures such as mergers were sought under government leadership, no agreement was reached. Ultimately, in October of that year, it was effectively nationalized using the Financial Reconstruction Act.

Furthermore, in the following year, 1999, the former management team was arrested for window-dressing. It currently operates as Shinsei Bank.



"Like I said yesterday, the reason I joined Sunpu (Group) was because Sunpu was originally a group that did civil engineering and construction as its legitimate business, so even now their front (companies) are involved in that. Aniki used to manage that side of things, so he knew a lot about construction. That's why he reacted to their words."

Looking at the large hall, the assembly room on the fourth floor, they probably used that expression because it felt wider than the overall space on the floors below. The fact that technical terms slipped out unintentionally meant that a part of the two men's identities had been revealed.

"Also, after I arrived, there was a time they didn't make it by 8:00 PM, the time they usually brought food or things we'd ordered. They apologized, saying, 'We underestimated the komawari and ended up having to work overtime, so sorry for being late.' Saying 'underestimating the komawari' is like industry jargon often used on-site. It means the work won't be finished within the scheduled time. It's not a phrase used in general society, right? They shouldn't have known we had knowledge of such words, so I think they used it naturally in their daily conversation without any sense of oddity, assuming it would be understood as is. If that's the case, I think it's safe to assume their work experience has been nothing but construction sites since leaving school."

Higashidate presented a remarkably sharp deduction here, even before the investigators. If Higashidate's story was true, it could certainly be said that there was a high possibility that young construction workers were involved as collaborators.

"Construction workers... Could this be related to the Isaka Group..." Yoshimura, who was beside him, spoke to Nishida while keeping his eyes on Higashidate. In response, Nishida murmured without moving his face an inch.

"It's entirely possible."

If a pair of young construction workers were performing a quite significant role alongside someone who was likely a veteran secretary of Oshima's inner circle, then there was no doubt they were people very close to Oshima—no, people he could trust. In that sense, both Nishida and Yoshimura felt that speculating those two were members of the Isaka Group was correct as a theory. However, the point about them being a 'young pair' caused a slight sense of incongruity...

"Returning to the previous topic, do you remember the faces of that pair?"

"If I'm shown photos, I think I'd know to some extent, but I can't say for certain."

"No, that's enough for now. We'll do the confirmation later. Is there any other information about them?" Onga tried to draw out more information in a calm tone.

"Information... Oh! Come to think of it, several pieces of konpane (T/N: concrete formwork plywood) that were there since before I arrived were already full of holes, so when they brought additional ones..."

The moment he heard those words, Kusaka, who had been silent, reflexively raised his voice.

"Konpane refers to plywood, right? What do you mean by it being full of holes!"

However, that reaction was natural even from Nishida's perspective. It was obvious how significant that meaning was.

"Pistol (T/N: chaka — slang for handgun) practice. They were using it for target practice."

His tone suggested 'don't make me say every little thing,' but there was no doubt that crucial information for the investigation team had come out. If a heinous crime committed by 'inexperienced' members who were hard to link to a shooting was predicated on 'training' to compensate for that, then it would make sense.

"So they were hiding out on the fourth floor, which has soundproofing, for that practice?" Onga's speech became faster, perhaps because he was approaching the heart of the matter.

"I didn't plan it, so I can't say for sure, but it's certainly possible that was the case. The pistol they brought to Kitami was a Tokarev with a silencer, so even with the soundproofing, the people on the floors below probably wouldn't have known they were doing shooting drills inside. Every day, each person used more than twenty rounds. In the end, even I did it for about ten days, so since I arrived in Kitami, didn't each person easily fire over 300 rounds? It seemed Kagami had prepared a considerable amount of ammo—nearly 2,000 rounds—so there was no worry at all about running out."

The weapon used was a Tokarev, and it was almost certain it had a silencer; this had not been released in the news. In other words, it was a confession involving the disclosure of a secret by Higashidate.

"How did you transport them to Kitami? Surely not by plane, which has baggage checks?" At Kusaka's questioning,

"I heard Kagami brought the pistols and ammo himself as hand luggage on the train. I only heard about it later, but it seems the two of them entered Kitami separately. On the way back, the three of us went our separate ways too," he answered. Spilling their movements when entering and leaving Kitami without even being asked was unexpected, but chronologically, there was no need to pursue that now. The two interrogators also seemed to want to save that for later and did not pursue it further.

"By the way, had you ever fired a pistol before then?"

"Well, back in the early eighties when US immigration wasn't as strict for yakuza as it is now, I fired one at a shooting range when I went to Hawaii. But I'd never held one in Japan. My group does shabu (T/N: meth), but we basically don't do pistols. I think it was the same for Aniki. It seems Kagami had fired them in the mountains and such even within Japan back then. By the time I arrived, his skill was already well-polished. He even gave me kind instructions. Well, it's not that difficult a thing. It was the courage to shoot at a human being that was more necessary..." He spoke nostalgically at Kusaka's question, reflecting on those days.

"The area of the hall on the fourth floor is definitely larger than Matsushima's hospital room, so it should have been sufficient as a prior practice site." Watching the scene from behind, Yoshimura relayed the information to Nishida again. If Higashidate came to Kitami on October 31st and the day of the execution was November 11th, there were more than ten days; putting aside the psychological barrier of shooting at a person, it was certainly a sufficient period to acquire the skill itself.

"But if it was full of holes, didn't some of them penetrate through? Didn't those bullets hit the walls or glass in the room?" Onga asked the natural question firmly.

"That's why we used two sheets of konpane, setting it up so that after penetrating the first one, it would stop at the second. Well, at first, we didn't understand the power of the bullets, so a few rounds went through when there was only one sheet, and it seems Aniki and Kagami said, 'This is bad.' So they switched to the method of using two sheets. That was before I came to Kitami, so I don't know the details beyond that. Since I arrived, we must have replaced the konpane three times in total. So, considering the time before I came, they probably replaced it four or five times."

"I see. I understand that point. Now, back to the pair. You said you asked them to bring in the konpane, but do you know how the used konpane was disposed of? What about the bullets?"

"For the bullets used, the ones stuck in the second sheet were pulled out with pliers, and in the end, Kagami took them all back. As for the used ones, I think they said something about burning them in the mountains... I don't know if they actually did."

If the konpane used for target practice was incinerated, it meant it wouldn't remain as evidence. If they also took back the bullets used for practice, the possibility of any remaining was almost zero. Unfortunately, it had to be said that seizing evidence from that angle would be difficult. However, what Higashidate said next signified an unexpected development.

"Even so, those guys were better with pistols than I was. They asked to let them fire a bit, and they brilliantly blew through the center of the target we'd put on the konpane. They didn't look like amateurs at all."

"Both of them could shoot pistols?" Kusaka, who had suddenly become the interrogator again, jumped on the testimony.

"Yeah. I didn't hear the specifics, but it seemed they'd pulled something off using pistols before. When I praised their skill, they said they'd received shooting training from local yakuza in the mountains. Since they were cooperating with us, I knew they weren't simple katagi (T/N: honest citizens/non-yakuza), but hearing that made me think so even more. However, they said they weren't professionals (T/N: yakuza) like us, so they were treated like punks, I guess. Well, from our perspective, they were guys we didn't quite understand..."

Naturally, Nishida understood the significance of these two being able to use pistols. Before the shooting incident at the hospital, there had been a series of incidents where bullets were fired into the offices of construction companies in the Kitami and Abashiri jurisdictions. And for Nishida, who viewed those incidents as having been used as a prelude to the Kitami Kyoritsu Hospital shooting, the possibility emerged that these two were the culprits (T/N: hoshi — slang for suspect). Moreover, the fact that no perpetrators had emerged during the sweep of local yakuza at the time was one piece of evidence that made sense if people who were likely not "members," like these two, were involved.

Above all, to have such "youngsters" cooperate in a major incident like a hospital shooting murder, a relationship of considerable trust must have been built with the Oshima side. If the two were already involved in the previous shootings at construction companies, it would be understandable. Assuming the two were likely members of the Isaka Group, the probability that the person who taught them shooting was a member of the Souryuu-kai, which has deep ties with the Isaka Group, became high. Unlike Higashidate and the others, their shooting training seemed to have been in the mountains.

The difference in shooting practice locations can be explained by the fact that for the hospital shooting, it was necessary to complete everything from the decision to the execution in a short time, and for the escape time, they needed to hide in a location as close as possible to the hospital. That must have led to the choice of Oshima Kaiji's office in the city center, which was equipped with soundproofing. And the biggest reason was clearly that they could expect the "name" of Oshima Kaiji to completely block police investigations at a stage where the probability of the perpetrators hiding there was low.

"Yoshimura, as soon as this interrogation is over, arrange for the list of Oshima Kaiji's secretaries and the photos and roster of Isaka Group employees! If possible, both from around seven years ago and now! On Oshima's side, it's probably a secretary of the banto (T/N: head clerk/manager) class who is extremely trusted."

"Understood." Yoshimura nodded once at Nishida's words. These are people who were involved in such a major incident. There was a high possibility they were still with the Isaka Group. Needless to say, just like the career advancement of Kitagawa and Shinoda who cooperated in the murder of Sada Minoru, Nishida had anticipated that these two would also be in certain positions.

Meanwhile, in the interrogation room, the content had shifted to the situation at the time of execution. Onga took the lead and continued the questions.

"The specific date of execution wasn't decided in advance, but if it was decided, how was the communication supposed to be conveyed?"

"I don't know directly. From what Aniki and the others heard beforehand, there was an insider in the hospital, and the plan was for the old man to give the go-ahead once some information came from that person. And that's actually what happened."

"You don't know anything about that insider?"

"No. I don't think Aniki and the others heard the details either. At least I don't know."

It was almost certain that this was Hamana, the hospital Union Leader who committed suicide, but Onga likely only asked just in case. However, it seemed that detailed information about both the insider and the perpetrators had not been shared on this point either. If Hamana had known the specific plan to murder Matsushima well in advance, he certainly wouldn't have ended up committing suicide as a result.

"So, when was the crucial execution date decided?"

"Regarding that... The final decision to carry out (the kill) should have been announced two days before the execution date. However, although the execution itself was decided, the old man told us to wait for final instructions regarding the specific date and time. So I remember the actual instructions coming just moments before the execution."

Considering this testimony and the actions of the late Detective Kitamura, Nishida thought that the wiretapping of the conversation between Matsushima, who had decided to submit a Written Statement, and the nurse was likely the trigger for the decision to murder. And that information was conveyed from Hamana to the Oshima/Nakagawa side, and the execution was finalized. The final go-ahead for the murder was likely given at the point when Matsushima contacted Kitamura to hand over the Written Statement—in other words, during the time on the day of the murder when Kitamura was heading to Engaru with Nishida and the others for karaoke.

However, a new question arose for Nishida here. Nishida previously held the view that Kitamura being caught up in the shooting was merely because he happened to be at that place at that timing when Higashidate and Kagami were seizing the Written Statement. However, if he thought about it carefully, if the purpose was only to seize the Written Statement and at a timing when Kitamura didn't know of its existence, couldn't the murder have been carried out at any time? Furthermore, if it was just to seize it, in some cases, it might not have even been necessary to kill Matsushima himself.

However, the actual situation was different. Higashidate's testimony emerged that the decision to execute and the decision on the specific execution date were two-stage instructions. Even though it didn't seem impossible to seize it during that interval, the reality was different. Now, he was forced to think about that point again.



Here, Nishida called Onga and Kusaka and gave specific instructions regarding further hearing content. Receiving that, Kusaka questioned him.

"On the day of the murder, how did you get from the office to the hospital? What was the time?"

"The time... I think it was around just before 6:00 PM... I'm not clear on that, but it must have been not too long before the execution... On the old man's instructions, we went outside using the office's emergency stairs. It seemed there were still other staff in the office at that time, so we couldn't use the regular stairs. We were told repeatedly to go down quietly. And we used the car that was parked in the office parking lot with a sheet over it... Actually, right after the murder was decided two days prior, Kagami and I had checked the route to the hospital and the escape route several times by car in the middle of the night. At those times, the old man and Aniki also rode along, and the old man taught us various things including the directions. And on the day of the execution, we went to the hospital exactly according to that practice. Well, I think it took less than five minutes."

Here, testimony emerged that the culprit group had practiced the route to and from the crime in advance. He had recognized that they likely did some kind of scouting before the execution, but specific testimony had come out. Heat also entered the words of the two interrogators.

"Was the car used for that practice the same as the one with the sheet over it used on the day of the crime?"

"No, a different... I think it was the office car. But I remember there was already a car with a sheet over it on the practice days."

From this testimony in response to Kusaka's interrogation, it was revealed that the stolen car actually used in the incident had been kept at Oshima's office since before then. The police never would have thought that a stolen car would be in the parking lot of a Member of Parliament's office, making it a perfect hiding place.

"You guys didn't do the car theft, did you?"

"No, we didn't! That's the reason I was caught, but as for that, we're completely innocent!"

His way of speaking at this time carried a strong sense of anger, as if to say 'don't keep asking.'

"Was it those two who stole it?" However, Kusaka continued to ask without reacting to each outburst.

"We didn't hear anything about that." As far as he could tell from Higashidate's expression, there seemed to be no lie in the testimony regarding the car theft.

"And on the day of the crime, you drove there, and from where did you enter the ward?"

"Parking the car near the emergency stairs was according to the prior practice. From there, we climbed the emergency stairs and entered the third floor where the target was."

"I believe Kagami and you were told to seize a paper? Or something after the murder, how about that?"

"Yeah, that's right. You figured it out well. We were told this so much it made our ears sore even before the execution was decided, by that old man. 'If you do it, there should be some papers like a notebook or stationery with writing on them, so make sure to seize them.' We entered the hospital about less than an hour before the kill... So the execution instruction at the office must have come about thirty minutes before we entered. After that, we went into a large room—was it the hospital Director's room?—on the same floor and monitored the situation in the target's hospital room with a wiretap. We were told to burst in wearing balaclavas at the timing when we were certain they were talking while looking at the contents written on the paper. 'The purpose is that paper, so collect it no matter what, and make sure to finish off all three people inside, including the woman! Those are the only ones who should know about the existence of that paper,' he must have told us that strongly right before the execution day too."

Here, Higashidate spoke new information. The perpetrators didn't burst in immediately before the murder but were timing it within the hospital. Moreover, it was likely not the Director's room but the Union Leader's room—in other words, the room of Union Leader Hamana, who committed suicide.

The Union Leader's room was on the same floor as the patients' private rooms and shouldn't have been too far from the room where Matsushima was hospitalized. Since there was almost no traffic on that floor at that time of day, it wouldn't have been so difficult to enter the Union Leader's room without being seen by anyone, and the crime was predicated on that.

Also, even if he wasn't the direct perpetrator, it had already been confirmed seven years ago through interviews with hospital staff and investigations that Hamana was not in that room at the time. The reason the instruction to kill even the nurse (Author's Note: written as 'kangofu' because the term 'kangoshi' was not used at the time) Momose was given was likely because she knew the details, including the content, of the existence of that Written Statement. If the instruction content was true, the Oshima side seemed confident that only the three people present, including Detective Kitamura, knew about the Written Statement. It can be assumed they had analyzed it through prior wiretapping.

And the reason the murder instructions were in two stages was likely because the location of the Written Statement was not clear, so they were able to be certain that this day, when it would be handed over to Kitamura, was the timing when the Written Statement would definitely come out, and thus it materialized as a practical execution instruction.

The fact that they waited until the timing of actually handing over the Written Statement before bursting in, and instead of just seizing the Written Statement, they even considered the murder of everyone present in advance and had to execute it, makes sense if the reason was the purpose of eliminating everyone who knew about the specific existence of the Written Statement at once and ensuring the recovery of the Written Statement. Without needing to be instructed, Kusaka continued the interrogation further.

"Was anyone else in the Union Leader's room? Wasn't it locked?"

"From what I heard from the old man beforehand, I was told no one was inside, and indeed no one was. It wasn't locked either. I think he also said, 'There's a wiretap receiver and earphones on the desk that let you hear the situation in the hospital room, so use them to monitor the situation and time it.' We were told to collect the wiretap from the Union Leader's room before the raid, and the one from the hospital room after the kill. Kagami was wearing the earphones and listening."

Regarding the wiretap in the hospital room, they knew it had been collected from the audio on Kitamura's recording tape, but Nishida hadn't considered that the receiver used to listen to it had also been firmly collected in advance. This was because he thought Hamana had collected it later. However, hearing such testimony now, even if they had raided the Union Leader's room immediately after the incident, the evidence would have already been gone. It was a quite calculated crime.

Here, Yoshimura made a sharp point.

"I've been thinking about this for a while, but it's still strange. In the investigation records, the footwear prints were only a linear round trip from the emergency stairs to the hospital room. To get to the Union Leader's room, you have to go to a different corridor midway, so the fact that there were no traces of that is incomprehensible no matter how you think about it!"

Nishida was also startled and immediately called Kusaka, instructing him to interrogate him about that.

Then,

"That's because the old man instructed us to take off our shoes midway to go to the Union Leader's room. That's why your investigation didn't find out we were hiding in the Union Leader's room, right?" he answered nonchalantly. It meant the opponent was considerably more skilled (T/N: uwate — superior/one step ahead) than the police. Hearing this, Nishida could only give a wry smile, honestly.

"I understand that point well. Now, about the paper that was instructed to be collected, did you confirm what kind of content was written on it? And did you hear specifically about the content beforehand?"

"No, I didn't hear anything at all, and I didn't see the contents. In the first place, it was Kagami who directly collected it. However, I was told beforehand that whether it was a notebook or stationery, it was something with various things written in it. In any case, we were told to burst in when it was certain to be in hand, so there was no need to confirm the contents. Also, it seemed the younger man who was killed was taking some notes, so Kagami collected those too. The old man praised us for that, saying, 'You were very attentive.'"

Even without hearing this statement, if Kitamura hadn't had the presence of mind to record the conversation, the truth of the incident would still not be clear.

"Did you have no resistance to killing even a woman?"

Here, Kusaka suddenly delved into Higashidate's psychology at the time. Nishida didn't know the intent, but perhaps it was a part he couldn't forgive after reading the investigation materials.

"Whether it's a woman or a man, killing (T/N: barasu — slang for kill/dispose of) someone obviously takes considerable resolve! I've caused injury cases before, but only with bare hands. I've never even stabbed someone with a dosu (T/N: short sword/dagger). But I treated it as a job. That's all..."

Higashidate flared up for a moment at Kusaka's questioning, but in the end, his tone dropped as if he were sighing. No matter how much he justified it, it seemed his heart might have truly ached regarding the involvement of even the nurse Momose.

"And you were the one who collected the wiretap in the hospital room. At the same time, the 'Abe' and the accent accidentally slipped out."

"It's frustrating, but I clearly made a blunder (T/N: heta wo utta — made a mistake/messed up)... Well, I guess you can't do bad things and get away with it..." Higashidate wore a bitter expression. However, it seemed Higashidate himself didn't realize that the 'blunder' had actually served to confuse the investigation.

Because they thought 'Abe' was a surname, the investigation had taken a considerable detour. Even without that, whether they would have reached Higashidate immediately by judging it as a Tohoku accent is one thing, but it cannot be denied it was a major mistake. If Nishida and Yoshimura hadn't realized in Taro, Iwate, that 'abe' was a dialect, there's a high possibility Higashidate wouldn't be here even now.

And while this part was originally a scene to elicit the disclosure of a secret, including the outlet-like shape of the wiretap, since they had already let Higashidate listen to the recorded audio and seen his reaction, it was impossible to use it as a disclosure of a secret. Nishida slightly regretted that he might have "made a blunder" in that regard.

"I see... I think I'll ask more about the time of execution later, but for now, I'll ask about the escape immediately after. At the time, did you know you were seen by other people while fleeing from the hospital room?"

When Kusaka pressed him again,

"No, I didn't know that. We were making a beeline for the emergency stairs, so I didn't feel it," he answered. It seemed he didn't know he had been witnessed by a patient in the next room at the time.

"From the emergency stairs, you jumped into the car, and from there to the vacant lot, was it according to practice?"

"Exactly."

"How did you escape from that vacant lot?"

"The car with the old man and Aniki arrived there without delay, and we got in immediately. This was also according to the prior practice. From there, we returned to Oshima's office as ordinary passengers."

Nishida was frankly surprised by this statement. He hadn't thought that the man believed to be Oshima's secretary had been so directly involved at the time of execution. However, he thought that in the event they were caught in a checkpoint, a local secretary of Oshima's class would have a high probability of being waved through (T/N: kao-pass — recognized and allowed through without ID), and it must have been insurance for that.

On the other hand, if he provided the office as a hideout, let them practice shooting, and was involved in the escape, it could be said it was certain that Oshima's secretary could be charged not just with solicitation or aiding and abetting murder, but as a co-principal in the murder.

Kusaka, for some reason, suddenly ceded the right to question to Onga.

"Team Leader Onga, please continue."

However, immediately after that, Nishida saw Kusaka's shoulders heave two or three times, and he deduced that despite what he said, the tension had caused considerable mental fatigue.

"Then, I'll ask about after you returned to Oshima's office..." Onga began to speak in a relaxed tone, but Higashidate started talking on his own.

"For a week after the incident, we stayed in the same room we'd been in, in the same state as before. Of course, we watched the various news reports about the incident we'd caused on TV. Even though it was a soundproof room, we could hear the sound of patrol cars driving around nearby as a faint noise, and if we opened the double windows for soundproofing, we could hear them quite well. Well, from what the old man said, I assumed they wouldn't come this far..."

Higashidate seemed to think the windows were double for soundproofing, but he didn't seem to know that windows in Hokkaido houses and buildings are usually double for insulation in the first place (Author's Note: I believe most buildings in present-day Iwate Prefecture have double windows, but since he went to Tokyo at a young age, I will leave it in this form).

"A week? If it was only that long, I think the central area around Oshima's office was still under quite strict police surveillance. Was it okay?" Onga asked, predicated on information from the investigation materials at the time. Naturally, Nishida also knew this because he had actually been in charge of the investigation.

"From there, the old man put us in a car and took us out of Kitami to a strange building in the suburbs? Two young guys were waiting there. They said it was an unused company dormitory or a resort or something... We stayed there for a few more days, and finally got permission from the old man to go home, and the three of us went back separately. Kagami was first. Aniki was second, and I was the last to go back."

"By 'going back,' what was the transportation? Car, train, or plane?"

"No, man. Putting aside me and Aniki, it would be impossible for Kagami to go by plane, right? He took back the pistols and the bullets used for practice and the remaining ammo. He'd get caught in the baggage check. It would be dangerous to leave it to a courier service too."

"I see, that's true. So how did you get back?"

"All three of us took the JR. We boarded from a station called Rube-something? All three of us received tickets from those two on the day and boarded from the station written on them, so there's no mistake. I heard those two also received them from the old man and were instructed to hand them over. Kagami went back on an express in the early morning, Aniki just before noon, and I went back on one just after noon. Those guys drove us from the building to the station."

Immediately after hearing this, Nishida gave instructions to Yoshimura.

"Regarding the Isaka Group, check if there was a dormitory or training facility or something near Rubeshibe, past or present, just like the previous matter."

Normally, he could ask a lower subordinate instead of a Senior Staff class, but as his confidant and someone who knew the case, it was easier to ask him. Also, it was a bit of a hassle to give instructions to a subordinate who wasn't there. However, he also felt a bit sorry for asking too much...

"In addition to listing the employees?" Yoshimura, as expected, voiced his dissatisfaction.

"Both are important, so I want to leave them to you." When he explained that...

"If you put it that way..." He didn't seem to mind it that much and immediately left the room. Such simplicity was both Yoshimura's good and bad side.

And Nishida proposed to Section Chief Mitani to stop the morning interrogation and take an early lunch break. Mitani accepted, and the questioning was temporarily suspended. The clock pointed to just past 11:00 AM.



During the lunch break, the leadership, including Nishida, remained in the station and had lunch. The subordinates who were not directly participating in the interrogation were also on standby, so they were at their respective posts at the Kitami Regional HQ and the Kitami Station. Seeing that the leadership appeared to be in a state of considerable tension, they themselves seemed restless.

While Nishida was thinking about the future while slurping delivered tempura soba, Yoshimura arrived carrying materials faxed from the Rubeshibe Town Hall (currently the Kitami City Rubeshibe General Branch due to the merger with Kitami City in 2006).

"Found it. A training facility near Onneyu Onsen! However, it seems they already sold it two years ago. The construction industry is in a slump these days... Now."

"Never mind that, who did they sell it to?" Pressed by Nishida,

"Uh... It seems it's now a resort for Otsuka Fisheries in Abashiri."

"Do you know the floor plan?"

"It seems the blueprints were submitted at the time of building certification, so here they are (Author's Note: I have not confirmed whether the government has an obligation to store blueprints or what the deadline is if they do, so there may be a lack of reality. My apologies)." Saying so, he picked it out from the materials on the desk and showed it.

"This is it! Good, good, you did well! As a bonus, I'll treat you, so order some eel (T/N: unagi) and eat up."

"I'll take you up on that. Come to think of it, is it already the Midsummer Day of the Ox (Author's Note: in 2002, it was July 20th and August 1st)?" Although he was the type with a strong appetite, perhaps because his head was full of the investigation despite his complaints, he hadn't even thought about the calendar.

Nishida handed Yoshimura three thousand-yen bills from his wallet and ate the tempura with a satisfied look. With Yoshimura's materials, Higashidate's testimony was almost corroborated, which led to a rare moment of leisure to savor the meal. From now on, since there was a possibility that Higashidate possessed information that only those involved in the incident could know, such as the floor plan of the hiding place, the investigation situation might improve further. It was a good sign that he had already obtained various important pieces of information before the afternoon interrogation.



For the afternoon interrogation, Nishida and Yoshimura took over from Kusaka and Onga. Until just before, he had intended to leave it to Onga and Kusaka, but Onga and Kusaka had ceded it to them, saying that the two of them, who knew the investigation situation at the time in detail, would be better for pinning down the specifics, and Mitani had also recommended it.



"Oh, you guys are taking over for the afternoon?" Higashidate, who was brought to the interrogation room, looked at the two of them intently before slowly sitting down.

"There were various things I wanted to ask directly, so we switched," Nishida replied while keeping his eyes firmly on Higashidate.

"I see... Well, at this point, I'll answer whatever you ask..." he said dismissively.

"Then, I'll go ahead without hesitation. Some parts may overlap with the previous hearing, but please bear with me." Saying so, Nishida began the questioning while looking down at the materials.

"First, about Oshima's office where the three of you were hiding. Can you remember anything that can prove you were definitely in that room at the time? Information that you wouldn't know unless you were there."

"Even if you suddenly ask me that..." Nishida also thought it was a bit of an unreasonable request from the start, but he desperately wanted more things like direct disclosures of secrets. To raid the office of Oshima, who was a Member of Parliament, the necessity of a specific investigation was vital.

For a normal raid, vague information would suffice, but when the opponent was the influential Oshima's office, there had to be a quite specific suspicion. Since testimony about a mere floor plan wouldn't go as far as a clear disclosure of a secret, he wanted concrete evidence that they had been in the room if possible.

"Is there anything? I'll give you about five minutes to think." Yoshimura also seemed to think it wasn't very promising and gave him a half-hearted amount of time. And just as Nishida began to think about asking the next story in the meantime, Higashidate suddenly opened his mouth.

"I don't know if it counts as evidence, but when Aniki and the others were practicing, I think about two holes were made in the wall where bullets got stuck. It's a wall that already has holes for soundproofing, so it wasn't something that stood out unless you were careful. Even seven years ago when they were fresh, they didn't stand out much. That is, if they're still there now..."

Now that he mentioned it, Nishida and the others remembered that when they were talking about the konpane, he had mentioned that a bullet had penetrated one sheet.

"Now that you mention it, you were saying that earlier! If that's found exactly as testified, it will be major evidence that you were actually hiding there. Were the bullets used the same as the ones actually used in the incident? Tell us more about that!" The reason he asked if the bullets were the same was that if bullet casing components remained in the bullet holes and matched the bullets used in the crime, it would be not just a disclosure of a secret, but a more scientific proof that the perpetrators had been hiding there.

"Yeah. Of course they should have been the same. The holes were already there when I arrived, but let's see... Do you have something to write with?" Receiving that, Yoshimura tore a page from his notebook and handed it over with a ballpoint pen, and he began to write something. Apparently, it was about the rough floor plan and arrangement of things on the fourth floor at the time, and the location of the bullet holes.

"This is about the extent of what I remember. Forgive me if I've forgotten the fine details." Saying so, he handed the pen back to Yoshimura and offered the paper to the two of them while starting to explain.

"Here, there was a huge TV and karaoke equipment and stuff. And over here was a storage space for desks and chairs, and this was the window..." Higashidate, who explained in order, was fairly specific and solid for someone who said his memory was vague. it made them think he had undoubtedly been hiding there at the time, and the credibility of his statement became higher.

"The bullet holes—the gunshots—were at a height of about 1 meter on this wall, is that right?" When Yoshimura pressed for confirmation from the recorded content,

"It was around my waist, so that sounds about right. They weren't big holes, but combined with the other holes in the wall, they stood out even less," he answered flatly.

"Seven years ago... What are the chances they've done renovations, like remodeling or repairs?" In response to that, Yoshimura, questioned by Nishida who turned his face toward him, said,

"I guess we just have to actually check... It's impossible to ask the office directly, so maybe try hitting up the people who go in and out... However, if it's associates, supporters, or fans, there's a considerable danger in trying to draw information out... Either way, we have to make sure our aim isn't leaked to people who can easily pass information to the other side. If they get ahead of us, it'll all be for nothing..." He replied with a sense that it was "difficult."

"We should check as soon as possible, but the problem is indeed how to check..." Nishida also pondered over specific investigation methods. When it came to making sure the opponent didn't realize the police were moving, there were many difficult problems.

It was the same in the investigation seven years ago, but if you try to make sure the opponent doesn't realize your movements as much as possible, you have to use your head quite a bit. However, since he didn't think an idea for a conclusion would come to him immediately, he decided to investigate something else.

Chapter 105: Name and Reality 28 {Combined 50/51} (116-118, 119-121: Higashidate's Confession Begins 4 — Detailed Flow of the Incident)

"We'll settle that later... First, even if it's not clear, tell us a bit more about the final decision to execute the already established murder plan and the instructions on the day of the incident."

"Even if you ask for details..." He hesitated at Nishida's question. Indeed, it was a somewhat too abstract question.

"Then... let's start with the prior training until the day of execution. You said you were training right after the decision to execute the murder, but how many times was it? In the previous hearing, you said several times, but if you know the specific number, that's even better." Pursuing unknown points more finely than necessary would likely be a waste of time since he had already given most of the detailed information he could. Giving the suspect stress could also affect the subsequent hearing, so they continued the delicate probing.

"That would be... We must have repeated it at least five times that day. ...Probably about six times? The next day, we did it three times during the same time slot."

"You repeated it quite carefully?" Yoshimura cut in.

"Well, it was a big job... Even so, Kagami seemed to think it wasn't enough, to the point where he was complaining to the old man, like 'let me do it a bit more.' Since it was unfamiliar territory, he was nervous even though it was a nearby location. Both for the real thing and the practice, Kagami was the driver, so I was somewhat relaxed, but considering his position, it couldn't be helped. However, the old man said, 'If you stand out more than necessary beforehand, it'll be bad later (T/N: nochinouchi — later on/in the future),' so we didn't do any more than that." Before being asked, he even answered who was driving, which was helpful for Nishida.

"Write down the seating arrangement for the four of you during that practice." When Nishida instructed him to write in the margin of the previous notebook, Higashidate immediately began writing.

"I was in the passenger seat, the old man was behind the driver, and Aniki was behind me. For the real thing, it was just the two in the back who were gone."

"Was the practice vehicle a normal passenger car?"

"I think it was a sedan type, but I don't know the specific name of the car. I didn't pay that much attention. The color should have been black. However, it was likely an office car, but I have a strong impression it wasn't the kind of obvious luxury type a 'Member of Parliament' would ride in." Higashidate answered Nishida's questions smoothly. He seemed to have quite a bit of memory here too. So far, it was a quite satisfying interrogation.

"Good, good! I see, I understand. So, pulling the car up next to the emergency stairs on the day was according to practice, but was the old man giving those instructions?"

"That's right. Like I said, we parked in that spot from the first day of practice."

"You didn't practice the flow from going up the emergency stairs to the Union Leader's room on the day, did you?"

"No, during the second day of practice, we did one practice run of going up the emergency stairs until just before entering the floor. We didn't enter the floor then, though."

"You did it quite thoroughly in advance..." Nishida was—it would be an exaggeration to say impressed—but in a way struck by how well-planned it was despite the short preparation period.

"We didn't enter the floor, but after returning home, the four of us used a floor plan to check so we wouldn't get the room wrong, and we also checked the photo of the old man who was the target. It might sound like self-praise, but the fact that we've made it this far without being caught is because we were proper about those things. On the second day, we even did one practice of transferring to the car the old man was driving from the meeting place after escaping." Higashidate also still seemed to have a light sense of guilt for the murder itself, but now was not the time to condemn that. And Nishida threw a significant question he had been curious about here.

"Both during the execution and the practice, I can't help but think it was predicated on the premise that there would be no people on the floor? However, depending on the time of the execution, wasn't there a possibility that many people would be there? If that's the case, on that point... and I mean only on that point, it seems like a quite unreasonable or sloppy (T/N: duzan — careless/slipshod) criminal plan."

"Oh, about that..." Higashidate made an exaggerated reaction, putting both hands behind his head as if the question was exactly right, and then said,

"During practice, we also asked the old man if the time of execution was already decided. Then he said, 'It partly depends on the opponent, but I'm arranging it so the opponent does so during the time slot we're practicing,' and I was a bit confused. But I was convinced by the explanation after that. That stuck in my memory quite well."

"Can you explain what that means!?" Nishida strongly demanded an answer. This was a quite important part. He didn't even hide his impatience and demanded it frankly.

"I don't know if I can explain it well, but... I don't know who did it, but it seems they'd created a situation in advance where the old man who was the target could only move during that time slot. I think... anyway, he said it could be executed during the same time slot as the practice without being seen by people..." Saying so, he put his fist to his mouth as if to make his memory clearer. And he added,

"Uh... Something about giving the old man the impression that people who were inconvenient for him were watching the hospital during the day... I don't think I heard anything clearer than that at the time. Anyway, he said the arrangements were in place to naturally bring about such a situation. He seemed quite confident. He said, 'Don't worry.'"

Nishida didn't completely understand the meaning of this either, but Higashidate and the others likely hadn't been given a detailed explanation in reality. It wouldn't have made sense to explain things to Higashidate and the others that couldn't be understood without the premise of the relationship between the murdered Matsushima and Oshima.

Perhaps the Oshima side's spy, who had become hostile, had given Matsushima the impression through the Union Leader Hamana, who committed suicide, that they were lurking in the hospital? That's how Nishida understood it. So, they created a need to call Detective Kitamura at a time when they wouldn't be seen by people.

It was quite possible that Hamana, who committed suicide, had also behaved as if he were Matsushima's ally in front of Matsushima. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone out of his way to be hospitalized in Hamana's hospital, which was actually under Oshima's influence. A wiretap in a hospital room is not something that can be easily installed unless the other party lets their guard down. He understood well that they had prepared quite meticulously, including the use of the Union Leader's room and the instruction to make them take off their shoes when entering it.

"I see. That's sufficient for now. Now, about the execution instruction on the day of the kill. I've already heard about the time the instruction came, but how was the old man's demeanor when he gave that instruction?"

"I don't think he seemed panicked, probably because what needed to be done was decided in advance. We'd also made up our minds, so we must have felt like 'it's finally time.' If possible, we would have liked to train a bit more, but being made to wait for a long time is also tough."

Here, Yoshimura asked reproachfully,

"Did you guys know there was a nurse and a detective in the room besides the old man Matsushima?" This question was similar to the one Kusaka had asked earlier, but Yoshimura likely couldn't help but say it.

"We were told just before that there would be a nurse and another man besides the old man. But I only found out from the news after the incident that the man was a detective. Anyway, we were told to kill everyone who was in the room with the old man, so it's too late now (T/N: ato no matsuri — after the festival/too late)... I wanted to complain, but well, once you've killed three people, it's already... Either way, if we get caught, it's over, so there's no difference whether he was a detective or not." He seemed to understand well what it meant to kill a detective—no, what it meant to kill three people.

"Then, from Oshima's office to the hospital... After receiving the instructions, first, how much time was there until you got into the stolen car in the parking lot?"

When Nishida asked again,

"We were in a state where we could leave at any time, so it must have taken a few minutes for things like getting ready. However, before that, we did a thorough review—or rather, a meeting and confirmation of the procedures. So, like I said, the instruction came probably just before 6:00 PM, and I think we used nearly thirty minutes from there for the check..." he answered the question. Higashidate didn't seem very confident at this time, but Nishida felt that the testimony so far was basically consistent.

"And then, the two of you finally got into the stolen car that had the sheet over it in the parking lot, right? I want to confirm something—what happened to the key for the stolen car?"

"That... Actually, it seems Kagami had already received it from the old man when he tried getting into the stolen car the night before." Regarding the stolen car, the investigation report should have stated that it was stolen with the key left in it, so he was able to corroborate this. Next was the car model, but the one stolen was a silver family sedan. "So the key was there. And you said he got in the stolen car the day before too?" Nishida confirmed what had bothered him in the previous interrogation.

"Even though I said he got in, like I said, I didn't, only Kagami did. And he only started the engine; he didn't actually move it, just sat in the driver's seat to check. He said there was no point in moving it and getting caught before the real thing, so he didn't move it. I was watching TV in the room upstairs at the time. As the person driving, he probably wanted to check it in advance."

"Do you know the model of that one?"

" I don't remember clearly, but it was a four-door mass-market car. I'm sure the color was silver. I thought it would stand out at night, and to be honest, I didn't feel very good about it." This was also firmly corroborated by the statement, and Nishida, who had questioned him, was satisfied.

"So, on the day, the two of you got into that car from the parking lot, went to the hospital, and snuck into the Union Leader's room as practiced. Do you know roughly how many minutes it took, or what time you entered the Union Leader's room?"

"I didn't time it on the day, but it was about five minutes at the practice stage, so it should have been the same on the day. I think we entered the Union Leader's room after 6:30."

"Did you start wiretapping immediately?"

"Yeah, immediately."

"In that case, how did you decide the timing to execute?"

"The old man instructed us to wait for the timing after the man who was coming to get the paper entered and they talked about something regarding the paper. It seems he knew we would arrive first. And after we arrived, I knew that man entered the hospital room at a stage where not much time had passed. From there, I had a final meeting with Kagami, collected the receiver, put on the balaclavas we'd prepared, and after going out to that corridor and putting on our shoes, we burst in. ...Of course, we were carefully checking to make sure no one was around, so maybe it wasn't exactly 'bursting in'..."

"What did you think after you fired the pistol without a word?" To be honest, this question had almost nothing to do with the investigation, but Nishida had asked it unconsciously for some reason. Even immediately after he finished saying it, he didn't quite know why he had asked.

"I didn't think anything. If you think about something, it's over... If you think, you won't be able to do it. Even after the kill, I tried not to have any emotions. Until then, I'd had experience hitting and being hit, but I'd never done a killing. It was a pistol, so there was no pain on this side either. Only the blood splattered on the walls and curtains made me feel that I'd done it... Also, my head was focused on collecting the paper and wiretap we were asked for and escaping." Higashidate answered flatly, at least on the surface without appearing apologetic.

Yoshimura was staring intently at Higashidate, but strangely, Nishida didn't feel that much anger at this answer. He could never forget the hatred from when his partner was murdered, but he had a sense that all such explosive emotions were now being directed into the pursuit of the man in front of him. And he even held the thought that the meaning of asking Higashidate that unconsciously just before was only to test for himself whether that "sense" was real when he heard the answer from Higashidate. Of course, Nishida wasn't certain if that was the true reason...

"After the murder, when you collected the paper and the wiretap and the 'Abe' and the rural accent accidentally came out, what was Kagami's reaction?" He switched his mindset and asked a new question.

"I don't think there was any particular reaction? But it wasn't a situation where we could confirm every single thing. I think I was aware I'd said something bad, though... Well, but even so, it wasn't the kind of thing that would lead to us being caught immediately, so I wasn't thinking about it that seriously either."

"I see. And you collected the paper and the wiretap, went outside, and escaped to the emergency stairs. You said you didn't notice you were being seen."

"Yeah, I didn't know. If I'd noticed, I might have even opened fire in the worst case. It's a good thing I didn't notice—for me and for the person who witnessed it." Indeed, Nishida also felt it was a good thing no unnecessary victims were produced.

"From there, you got into the car you'd come in and went to the vacant lot that was the meeting place, right? It shouldn't have taken much time, but how long did it take for the old man and the senior member Ohara to come pick you up, as practiced?"

"It was immediately after we arrived because I'd contacted Aniki on the mobile from the passenger seat when we got in the car at the hospital parking lot. This was exactly as we'd practiced on the second day—the set of going up the emergency stairs and the old man and Aniki coming to the vacant lot to pick us up." From Higashidate's previous and current testimony, the second day of practice was already a quite tense affair, even if the number of times was small.

"I see, you contacted him by mobile... What about the balaclavas?"

"If you're driving a car with a balaclava on, you'll be considered quite suspicious the moment you're witnessed. We took them off the moment we left the parking lot." It was highly probable that the hairs left in the car from the two of them fell out at that time.

"When you arrived at the vacant lot, the other party came immediately, and did you two get into the back seat?" This time Yoshimura asked.

"That's right. The idea of the trunk was also considered beforehand, but the old man advised that it would be better to act dignified even in the event we were caught in a checkpoint. He said, 'I'll be waved through,' so he must have been confident, right? Although I thought the old man was a secretary, I wasn't clear on who he was... until I came to Kitami, but with those words, I knew he was a quite influential person in the region. That's when I became certain he was definitely Oshima's secretary." Higashidate stated a reasonably rational thought as usual.

"And you arrived at the office without any problems?"

"Yeah, there was a wait for a right turn, but I remember we didn't get caught by any signals. Why do I remember? Well, I guess I was thinking about getting there as quickly as possible... There's no doubt I was inwardly nervous the whole time. Weren't all three of us restless? But only the old man was strangely composed. He must have been confident in his 'face.'" Higashidate replied to Yoshimura's rapid-fire questions, then rotated his neck as if to loosen the stiffness in his neck and shoulders. Neither Nishida nor Yoshimura, who had been interrogating him, had matched him, but they unconsciously relaxed their bodies to let the tension out. All three must have been naturally tensed up. He could understand Kusaka's fatigue from earlier through his own body.

"Looking back now, those less than two hours were the longest two hours of my life... Although the meaning of what I'd done would become clear again in the news that night..." When Higashidate resumed the story while looking at the two investigators,

"Did you regret it?" Yoshimura asked in a low voice.

"Not that. If I were to regret something there, I'd rather regret everything since I was born..." Higashidate bluffed, but a hint of transience drifted in his expression. Given what he had done, he could hardly be called a decent human being, but he had the compassion to sense the feelings of the senior member who had looked after him. Nishida, who had lost his partner, had no intention of forgiving him easily, but looking at his upbringing, there was no doubt his life had been one where he kept pushing the wrong buttons somewhere.

"By the way, what did you eventually do with the collected papers, notes, and the wiretap?" Nishida asked what had been bothering him after all.

"I should have handed the papers and such to the old man. The wiretap, including the receiver, was stepped on and broken and then went straight into the trash... Even so, I never thought the whole sequence of the incident was being recorded. What kind of trick was that?" He shook his head several times and made an indescribable face, but indeed, the fact that Kitamura's recording remained was a stroke of luck that happened to overlap with the plan to go to karaoke. Along with the worst misfortune for Kitamura...

That said, as far as he looked back on Higashidate's confession so far, wasn't it an unavoidable fate—or rather, destiny? Nishida couldn't disguise his helplessness other than by thinking so, and he remained without answering Higashidate's question. Higashidate also seemed to sense something in Nishida's demeanor and didn't ask further.



"Now then... After returning to Oshima's office, what was the situation and how long were you there? You mentioned moving to another location after about a week, right?" Nishida pulled himself together and began the interrogation again.

"That's right. I think it was about a week, but for a while, we stayed hidden just like before the incident, and that young pair also bought various things for us. Other than not doing gun training, I guess it was almost the same as before... Then, seeing that the police movements had settled down to some extent, we left Kitami in the old man's car at noon. The reason was that broad daylight would actually be less suspicious. Also, at that time, there were no other people in the office, and I remember going down the stairs inside the office to the parking lot exit normally. So it must have been either Saturday or Sunday?" Receiving this statement, Yoshimura checked the pocket calendar with a 1995 calendar that he had brought into the interrogation room; November 18th and 19th were indeed Saturday and Sunday. It also matched the approximate passage of time of one week after the 11th, the day of the crime. Considering the information that Oshima's office is often open on Saturdays, it could be said the probability of Sunday the 19th was high.

"I see. I understand that part. Now, tell us in detail about the place where you were newly hiding."

"It was a fairly large building like a resort near a hot spring town, but they said it wasn't usually used... Actually, we could have used the hot spring, but the pair of youngsters who were waiting there said the hot spring was stopped because there was no manager, I remember. Both Aniki and Kagami seemed disappointed and were lightly frustrated. They were like, 'To think we can't get in the hot spring we came all this way for.'"

"Did those two take care of you there too?"

"Not every day, but about once every two days, they brought various ingredients and side dishes. In the first place, we weren't there for even a week, so I think it was about three times."

"Did they come during the day?"

"No, at night, after work, I think? They should have been in plain clothes just like in Kitami..." He tilted his head, but this was a question based on Nishida's wishful observation that they might have been wearing Isaka Group work clothes, so it couldn't be helped.

"Was life there similar to Kitami?" Nishida's rapid-fire questions made him look a bit fed up, but

"That's true, but we kept the curtains closed even during the day. Those two youngsters told us not to show any signs of people being there. Since it's not usually used, it would be troublesome if people around thought something strange was happening. They gave us a piece of paper with a phone number on it and told us that if anyone came to check, we should give them that paper and have them call that number." He answered firmly.

"Surely you don't remember that phone number? Or did you hear whose phone number it was?" Nishida asked just in case, though he thought it was a long shot.

"No, it was just a string of numbers, so I don't know. I have a faint memory that there was no area code..." At the somewhat useful information,

"Does that mean the other party was a landline?" he reflexively confirmed.

"Probably. Well, don't make it a definitive statement. I can't guarantee it."

If it were a mobile, there was a possibility it was the mobile of one of the two young men, but considering it was a landline and a phone number to give to someone who came to check for suspicious persons, Nishida thought it might have been a number for some department of the Isaka Group. Rubeshibe and Kitami should have had the same area code back then. If so, since it was a training facility, it might be a department related to personnel or general affairs.

"What about the memory of the floor plan or what kind of building it was?"

"I think it was two stories, and the rooms were only on the second floor... about six rooms. All about the same size... about 12 tatami mats? The first floor had a dining hall, toilets, and a huge hall, and they weren't rooms for staying in. There were futons in each room. They said it hadn't been used for a while, and I certainly remember it smelling a bit musty." The blueprints of the resort he had obtained and Higashidate's testimony almost matched. This would also qualify as a disclosure of a secret. Nishida's confidence in the credibility of the testimony had become quite high at this point because Higashidate had been giving proper testimony throughout the series of interrogations.

"And then, you reached the day of escape without being found by anyone, right? You said the departure was during the day, but did you leave cautiously then too? And those two were in plain clothes even though it was daytime?"

"On the day of departure, we were paying attention to our surroundings just in case, but I don't think we were being that secretive. Those two were also in plain clothes. Like I said, we each received tickets from those two."

"Then, one from me too." Yoshimura claimed the right to question after a long time.

"You said the three of you went back separately, but how was the order decided?"

"Regarding that, according to the message from the old man, Kagami, who was taking back the pistols and bullets, was the priority. It didn't matter to Aniki or me, but Aniki seemed to want me, the perpetrator, to go first. However, I showed respect to Aniki and had him go first."

Here, Nishida confirmed with Yoshimura if he wanted to ask more, and since he shook his head, he decided to ask himself again.

"You boarded from Rubeshibe Station, right? No mistake about this?" Saying so, he showed a photo of Rubeshibe Station that was in the police materials. Higashidate peered at it intently, but

"Hmm, I wonder. I feel like that was it, but..." He didn't seem certain. Well, there was no need to be overly particular about this, so he moved on to the next question.

"You said you were the last to depart, but was it in the evening?"

"No, I left just after noon. I should have bought a station bento and boarded." From this, it could be judged that the train Higashidate took was likely the Okhotsk No. 6.

"Did you go straight back to Tokyo? Did you stop anywhere?" Nishida had wanted to ask because there was the example of Motohashi, who had gone back while audaciously sightseeing even after a murder.

"Stop? Only to get off and stay in Sapporo... I was told to find my own lodging, so I stayed at the Sunrise Hotel near Susukino. I'd stayed there several times when I went to Sapporo, so it was out of habit... But I wasn't in the mood to drink, so I didn't leave the hotel. The next day, according to the ticket I'd received, I went to Hakodate by express from the morning, transferred, and went back by the Tohoku Shinkansen. It was evening when I returned to Tokyo. It was a remarkably beautiful sunset... Well, I'd received a ticket to Tokyo, but in my case, I could have gone by plane with my own money, but for some reason, I wanted to take my time going back. I heard Aniki went back to Tokyo from New Chitose by plane on the same day after going to Sapporo. I don't know about Kagami. I haven't seen him since. Well, it's almost certain it wasn't by plane, right? Is this okay?" Saying so, Higashidate gestured for a cigarette. Yoshimura made a face as if to say 'good grief' but took a cigarette from his breast pocket, handed it to Higashidate, and lit it for him.

"There are still things I want to ask about beyond that, so please bear with me a bit longer." Nishida said so while watching Higashidate, handed him an ashtray, and waited for him to finish smoking. Higashidate exhaled smoke and stared at the two of them, saying,

"I don't think what I did will be forgiven, but even so, Aniki is at least innocent of the murder. Is it safe to assume that the reason Aniki and the Shiun (Association) and Sunpu (Group) were likely killed on the orders of the Aoi-ikka was because of my incident?"

"That's only a possibility, and it's impossible to say for certain. The possibility that there were other reasons is well worth considering." Nishida avoided making a definitive statement, keeping in mind the "warning" aspect—the possibility that the two organizations' cooperation with the Eda-gumi had invited the incident—which he had not mentioned when he told Higashidate that the bombing was for the purpose of silencing him.

"Hey, hey! That's not what you said! Those two detectives earlier said the purpose was to silence us about the incident!" Feeling he had been deceived into confessing, Higashidate became enraged and stood up as if he were about to strike, but Yoshimura immediately restrained him. Nishida remained seated and looked up at Higashidate.

"I'm sorry the two who interrogated you earlier only said that... As their superior, I take responsibility and apologize! However, I just thought I should be honest with you since you've talked this much. Of course, I believe the bombing had the aspect of being for the purpose of silencing! On top of that, I only said that other causes might have been involved too." He did not break his composed attitude and, on top of that, spoke each word clearly and consciously. Higashidate continued to glare at Nishida, but after a while, he sat down with a thud.

"So, how much is it—the (possibility of) silencing?" He confirmed as if he had given up, but

"I don't know clearly. However, doing it at this timing was probably for another reason, right? I'm looking at it as if the silencing for your incident also became a reason by taking advantage of that," he replied. Higashidate couldn't hide his irritation at Nishida's frank statement, but he put the cigarette in the ashtray, leaned his upper body toward the two detectives as if leaning on the desk, and said,

"I understand that... But make sure you definitely take revenge for Aniki! Don't let my confession end as just a teppoudama (T/N: expendable hitman/bullet) treatment!" he threatened in a low, menacing voice. Needless to say, Nishida was not intimidated by that.

"The bombing case is not something the Hokkaido Police will investigate directly. It's the Metropolitan Police Department. A careless promise is fundamentally impossible," he said, stating the facts without averting his gaze. Even if he said more convenient things, he would only be more enraged later when he felt he had been deceived. Higashidate made a gesture as if snorting and jerking his chin up, but

"I guess expecting anything from the police (T/N: satsu — slang for police) is fundamentally useless," he said spitefully and carried the cigarette to his mouth again.

Naturally, he must be carrying the burden of guilt for the incident, but Nishida felt a sense of helplessness at his attitude of valuing loyalty to his senior member over reflection on his own behavior. However, this was not the time to be particular about that.

"What was it like after you returned to Tokyo? Including the matter of your senior member and the excuses to the group for your absence from Tokyo." Yoshimura asked anew, timed for after Higashidate crushed his cigarette in the ashtray, likely also to change the atmosphere. Mentally, Nishida was inwardly grateful that he had moved at this timing.

"Regarding Aniki, it was the Boss's order, so it was fine for the underlings to just say 'what were you doing?' As for me, I think the Boss and the executives just said some nasty things to me... Anyway, it was already decided that I would quit the group. I remember there being no problems until I quit."

"In other words, the crime was just ignored within the group?"

"I guess you could think of it that way. It seems Aniki reported the results to the Boss, Kamikawa, but well, it was on the news, so it didn't mean much. I guess the report went to the Aoi-ikka from Kamikawa? It seems Kamikawa didn't say anything to Aniki about that." In this case, there was no doubt Ohara had reported it as if he had done the kill himself.

"I understand that matter. And what did you do after you left the group at the end of the year?"

"For the time being, I was nursing my mother who was hospitalized in my hometown of Miyako. I was in Miyako for about a year. After that, a junior from my delinquent days in middle school in Otsuchi had a shop in Kokubuncho in Sendai, so I was looked after at his place and went independent in my fourth year. The business itself wasn't going that well, but with support from Aniki, I was able to live a decent life. That's the end of my story." Higashidate didn't hide the air of having finished a job. In response,

"Even if you say it's the end, there are still things to ask, so it's just the end for today, not the end of the interrogation itself!" Yoshimura, who had been continuing the questions, pressed him.

"Yes, yes, understood! More importantly, the guy who killed Aniki—Aoi is definitely involved, so do something about it!" Higashidate threatened again, likely intending it as encouragement for the detectives.



The interrogation ended for the time being, and an investigation meeting was held again regarding the subsequent investigation. Unfortunately, the route to clarifying the incident through the yakuza route had been cut off because the Sunpu Boss Kamikawa and Ohara, who were believed to have directly instructed Ohara for the hospital shooting, had already been killed in the bombing. Also, the Kagami route had effectively failed to lead to an indictment in the investigation several years ago. Therefore, the current situation was that it would be quite difficult to link the incident to Oshima through the organized crime route.

However, if several facts could be confirmed, there was a possibility of corroborating Higashidate's testimony, so there was still room to directly link it to Oshima through the Kitami route. Therefore, the meeting summarized the facts to be confirmed and the investigation policy.

1) Testimony that there were two bullet holes from a pistol on the fourth floor of Oshima Kaiji's office where the three were hiding. If they still remain, and if bullet components can be detected from the bullet holes, the disclosure of a secret can be established. Furthermore, if the results of the bullet component analysis match those used in the execution, it will further strengthen the corroboration of the crime.

2) The existence of a pair of young collaborators and an elderly man who appears to be a secretary at Oshima Kaiji's office was revealed. Identification is necessary. There is a high possibility that the two were (or are) employees of the Isaka Group or an Isaka Group-related company.

3) Regarding the criminal content in which the secretary and the two young men are believed to have been involved. Based on the form of criminal involvement in the Kitami Kyoritsu Hospital shooting, the aim is to indict the man believed to be the secretary as a co-principal in the murder, and the young men for aiding and abetting murder. For both, the crime of harboring a criminal has expired, and since they would originally be absorbed into the respective indictment requirements (murder/aiding and abetting murder), they are not subject to consideration.

4) Also, the statute of limitations for the theft (vehicle theft to procure an escape vehicle) believed to be by the two is seven years, so indictment is possible at this point. Unidentified hairs remain in the stolen escape vehicle besides Kagami and Higashidate, and after identifying the two, whether they match will be tested by requesting a physical examination warrant and collecting hairs after permission is granted upon arrest for aiding and abetting murder.

Furthermore, to gain more detention days for the two, a theoretical framework will be constructed on the premise that they did not recognize the vehicle would be used as an escape vehicle for a murder at the time of the theft, and the possibility of indicting them for a separate theft case rather than as part of aiding and abetting murder will also be considered. Regarding the secretary, it falls under the crime of storing stolen goods within the crime of involvement with stolen goods, but this is also impossible to indict due to the statute of limitations.

5) There is also a possibility that the two were involved in the shootings at construction companies in the Kitami and Abashiri regions that occurred frequently before the hospital shooting (this is also indictable as the statute of limitations is seven years, as the violation for possession of pistols etc. in the Firearms and Swords Act carries a maximum of ten years in prison). They can be pursued after arrest for aiding and abetting murder.

6) The necessity of confirming the status of the former Isaka Group training facility in the Onneyu Onsen area where the perpetrator group, including Higashidate, moved from the office, and the possibility that someone in charge of the management department of the Isaka Group at the time grasped some facts.

7) Also, since there is a high possibility that the two were employees of the Isaka Group or an Isaka Group-related company, the involvement of Isaka Masamitsu, the president of the Isaka Group—namely, instructions or orders—is suspected, including all the above crimes in which the two young men were involved.

End.



Needless to say, to scientifically corroborate the involvement of the Oshima Kaiji office side, securing evidence that shooting training was being conducted inside the office was considered the most important key. However, the wall of seven years of time stood as a major problem for that. Fortunately, most of the crimes barely made it within the seven-year statute of limitations; was that at least a bit of good luck?

"Even if the people in the office didn't recognize the seven-year-old bullet holes as bullet holes, if they've been repaired or renovated through normal remodeling, there's nothing we can do," Yoshimura pointed out.

"Seven years... It's a delicate point. If it were a poor person, it would be one thing, but it's Oshima's office. It wouldn't be strange if they'd done at least some remodeling," Kusaka agreed.

"Anyway, we can't even start talking until we find out what the situation inside the office is like. If the bullet holes remain, we'll raid immediately, but..." At that opinion of Koyabu, Mitani voiced an objection.

"It's true we want to raid as soon as possible, but wouldn't various problems arise unless we also arrest the three people, and if possible the president Isaka Masamitsu, at the same time? It would be troublesome if they coordinated their stories, and I can't stand it if evidence is destroyed. We have to finish them off all at once... Honestly, we should probably do Oshima Kaiji too, but that's impossible unless we pile up a lot of evidence..."

"We also have to consider various timings..." At Mitani's opinion, Koyabu made a face like he'd chewed a bitter bug and lightly struck the desk two or three times with his fist.

"In any case, now that we've approached the main stronghold, impatience is forbidden. However, if the time comes, we'll need to go boldly. First, we want to firmly do the prior corroboration. The problem is that the statute of limitations is approaching for the Sada Minoru case, so we have to be careful about that." Nishida also did not break his cautious stance, while at the same time, he was concerned about the statute of limitations for the Sada Minoru murder case.

"As for the aim, for the one who appears to be the secretary, we have no choice but to go straight for him as a co-principal in the hospital shooting. However, for the two young men, there seem to be various ways to do it. Regarding the shootings at construction companies, it's currently difficult to find evidence, so is that for later... About the theft of the escape car, it's more appropriate for evidence collection to arrest them for aiding and abetting murder first, then take a physical examination warrant, collect hairs, and analyze them, so is this also for later in the end... If that's the case, is it best to go straight for aiding and abetting murder from the start? In the end, it results in the same kind of method for both... What should we do about Isaka? Since it's unlikely the two young employees could do as they pleased, are we aiming for solicitation? Or treat it as a conspiracy co-principal by emphasizing the principal nature... It was likely actually so, but either way, it's going to be a quite precarious arrest, unless we interrogate the two and get testimony of involvement first." Yoshimura stated his findings in a rapid-fire manner, but

"That's right. As a result, we'll arrest the one who seems to be the secretary at the main stronghold, and for the young guys, we'll investigate various things after that and if we can indict them, re-arrest them for long-term detention—that's the plan... It's the reverse pattern of the usual separate case (arrest), but it can't be helped. As for Isaka... well, I don't want to think about it now," Mitani agreed with a wry smile.

Chapter 106: Name and Reality 29 {Combined 52/53} (122-124, 125-126: Identification of Collaborators — Maneuvering Toward the Oshima Office Raid — Wake for the Boss's Wife)

Just after 3:00 PM on Friday, July 19th, Nishida was smoking a cigarette with Yoshimura in the break room of the Kitami Regional HQ. Yesterday and today, the investigation headquarters (T/N: chouba — slang for investigation HQ) had been steadily making preparations for raids and arrests. To be precise, although it was the investigation headquarters, for information management, participation was limited to only some investigators (especially Nishida's team), so the investigators who were shut out from detailed information might have been inwardly quite dissatisfied.

However, even if he made a mistake, he wanted to avoid information leaks at all costs, so he was aware of that. Both Mitani and Nishida were facing considerable continuous stress, including the care of their subordinates.

Already as of yesterday, it had been confirmed through a photo lineup with Higashidate that the person Higashidate called "the old man" was Nakagawa Tomio, who had been Oshima Kaiji's local inner circle and a veteran secretary since before then. As expected, he was Oshima's confidant. And he was also the person who had accompanied Oshima Kaiji on a trip with supporters when Nishida and the others were staying at the Hotel Shochikubai in Onneyu Onsen in '95 to take Oshima's fingerprints.

On the other hand, regarding the pair believed to be employees of the Isaka Group, the list had not yet been created, and the collation was carried over to tomorrow or later.

Also, in the morning, Sudo from the NPA Organized Crime Department, who had been contacted, conducted a raid on the home of the late Sunpu executive Ohara, who was Higashidate's senior member, and also heard the circumstances from his widow.

Nothing particular came out in the raid, and although they obtained testimony from the wife that he had indeed been away from home for more than half a month on the pretext of a business trip in the year their daughter was born, it seemed Ohara had not disclosed anything important at all.

However, it was reported that since her husband had just died, they had refrained from a detailed hearing and had settled for just a "touching upon it." Of course, the NPA's feeling that important testimony likely wouldn't be obtained was also a major reason. The Kitami side also accepted that.



"Assistant Section Chief Nishida! Are you free now?" Suddenly, the huge Takekuma, a junior detective, entered the room with a quick step while calling out, so the two stared at Takekuma to see what was going on.

"Huh? Oh, I'm just on a break, so I don't mind..." When Nishida said so,

"About the Ainu language matter the other day, I found out by asking my sister!" he blurted out.

"Hey, you... doing that kind of thing..." Yoshimura was about to stop him, half-appalled, but Nishida restrained him with one hand.

"Oh, is that so! You went out of your way to check. That must have been a lot of trouble," he responded.

"I thought you were busy, but I thought it would be okay now... Is it a nuisance after all?" Sensing something from Yoshimura's attitude, he distorted his face as if he'd done something bad and gripped the paper he'd brought, but

"No, no, it's fine. Tell me," Nishida tried to make sure Takekuma didn't lose heart.

"Then, if you don't mind." Saying so, he took the paper out of his pocket again and began to explain.

"It's about the 'mu' (Author's Note: in Ainu, it is originally written as a small 'mu') in 'Memu,' which is the origin of the town name Memuro. It seems that unlike Japanese, the Ainu language has consonant pronunciations like English. In Japanese, like the 50 sounds, all sounds are made of a combination of a consonant and a vowel, right? But in English, sounds can be formed with just 't' or 'm' or 's'. It seems the Ainu language's pronunciation form has something similar to that. They seem to use these small kana or katakana to represent those consonant pronunciations."

"Ho... Now that you mention it, I heard that the Ainu language doesn't have a writing system, but how about that?"

"Yes, that's right. So, this seems to be a notation method devised after the Ainu people came to learn—or rather, were made to learn—Japanese."

Takekuma's story wasn't exactly easy for Nishida to understand, but he had dropped it to a level where it could be understood to some extent. However, since he hadn't told him the crucial part yet, he tried demanding it.

"So, this small 'mu,' how should it be pronounced in the end?"

"Ah, I accidentally forgot the most important thing... About that... As written on the paper my sister faxed me, please think of it as almost the same as the 'm' pronunciation in the middle of the English word 'member'."

"Member? If it's the 'm' in the middle, in Japanese, does that mean the part that corresponds to 'n'?"

"Yes! And even if it's the 'n' in the Japanese pronunciation of 'member,' it's apparently exactly the same as the single 'm' pronunciation in English."

"Eh? The Japanese pronunciation of 'member' is already close to the English pronunciation?" Nishida was surprised by the somewhat unexpected story.

"Yes. But the part about being close to the English pronunciation is only for the 'mem' part of 'member,' to the end. Since the first 'me' part can be almost the same as Japanese, it's in combination with that."

"Explain that in a way that's easier to understand, please." Nishida became more interested than he had expected while listening.

"Then. For example, there's the Hepburn system for romaji, but usually 'n' is assigned to the 'n' sound, right? But if there's a pronunciation involving a plosive like 'b' or 'p' before it, the 'n' sometimes changes to 'm'. For example, the dance 'samba' is written as 'samba'." Takekuma's words and actions were like probing Nishida's level of understanding at every turn, but it couldn't be helped since Nishida was also listening to the explanation while tracing suspicious memories from his compulsory education days.

"Yeah, well, I think it was something like that..." He returned the words as if he somehow understood.

"This conversion happens because plosives are always uttered from a state where the lips are closed, so it's necessary to close the lips once at the point of the 'n'. However, when we normally pronounce 'n,' we don't particularly close our lips. For example, try pronouncing 'samba' after pronouncing 'santa,' which is similar to 'samba.' You should be able to tell there's a difference in the 'n' pronunciation."

Nishida tried saying it as Takekuma told him, and indeed, while he pronounced the 'n' part of 'santa' with his mouth open, he pronounced the 'n' of 'samba' with his mouth closed.

"Oh! It really is different! I see, there was such a specific difference." Nishida was honestly impressed. On the other hand, Yoshimura watched the scene with an indescribable face.

"In other words, even for Japanese people, the English consonant 'm' pronunciation is actually at a level they can do normally on a daily basis. However, in Japanese notation and listening, the 'n' with the mouth open and the 'n' with the mouth closed are treated as the same 'n'. But when actually pronouncing them, there are cases where they can be distinguished." (Author's Note: For details on this area, please refer to the following sites: http://honmono-eigo.com/shiin/mn-hatsuon.html http://note.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/detail/n42557)

"That's quite easy to understand. ...Anyway, as a conclusion, the pronunciation of the small 'mu' is fine as the 'n' pronunciation in 'samba,' right? And the pronunciation of the Ainu word 'Memu' would be the same as the 'mem' part of 'member'? If that's the case, is it correct to say that 'Memu-oro,' the origin of Memuro, is correctly 'Men-oro' in terms of the Japanese notation of the pronunciation itself?" Nishida also couldn't keep up with this pace forever, so he sought a quick conclusion.

"Yes. That's exactly what it should be. Furthermore, for a Japanese level, the normal 'n' pronunciation is fine. It's more accurate if you're conscious of the 'm' type of 'n,' though..." Takekuma replied while bending his huge body slightly and peering at Nishida's expression.

"Yeah, I see. This was quite easy to understand. Sorry for making you look into various things. Give my regards to your sister who even wrote the explanation in the fax!" Nishida said so and lightly tapped Takekuma's large back.



"Is it okay, going along with this kind of thing..." After confirming Takekuma had left, Yoshimura complained to Nishida pointedly.

"Why not? He went out of his way to look up what I asked him the other day, so I can't just treat him coldly, right? Besides, we're on a break now. It's not a stage where we need to be that concerned about time, is it?"

"That's true, but he should also understand the importance of the case we're handling to some extent, right? He should realize it's not the time to be doing Ainu pronunciations or whatever... It seems that, not to name names, but smart people have a way of not being able to read the room..." The brunt of Yoshimura's grumbling seemed to be directed at Takeshita from Monbetsu, but Nishida swallowed the words "you also can't read the room sometimes" and finished his break.



"But I just can't get used to Marine Day no matter how many years pass. Was today Saturday?" Yoshimura, who was heading to the interrogation room in the Kitami Station for Higashidate's interrogation, spoke to Nishida unilaterally, but Nishida only gave half-hearted replies as his head was full of what lay ahead. Besides, as Yoshimura said, Marine Day on July 20th (from the following year, 2003, the date was no longer fixed and became the third Monday of July—the so-called Happy Monday Law) was still not a holiday that felt right to Nishida. Marine Day had only started being treated as a holiday in '96, the year after the two became involved in the series of incidents.

Needless to say, even if it had already been a holiday that year, the two, who were in the middle of a desperate stakeout of Managing Director Kitagawa—albeit separately—would not have enjoyed it. However, now seven years later after it was established, they were again unable to enjoy the holiday due to the investigation of the case. In the first place, there's no such thing as a holiday for detectives on a shift system...

Today, he intended to have Higashidate confirm the list of Isaka Group employees. He thought the possibility was high, but it was still just an investigation-based speculation, and whether it could be confirmed here would have a major impact on the progress of the investigation. Both Nishida and Yoshimura hoped that the two who cooperated with Higashidate and the others were in this list.

And the investigators had already listed two people as having the highest possibility, but to avoid conducting the hearing with a preconception, they decided to check everyone from the beginning.

While having Higashidate check the list in the interrogation room, in about fifteen minutes, they reached the part where the two from seven years ago were pictured. While watching the situation with a slight guard, he reacted as expected.

"Yeah, it's these guys, no mistake! It's them!" He tapped his index finger on each photo several times and looked at the two interrogators in front of him.

"No mistake?" Nishida confirmed in a low, suppressed voice, but

"You're persistent! I'm telling you it's definitely these guys!" he showed an attitude like "give me a break!" Of course, Nishida and the others didn't doubt the testimony, but it was necessary to press for confirmation.



The two were employees of the Isaka Group named Sakamoto Hisashi and Itagaki Hayato. They were currently 28 and 26 years old respectively, from the same middle school, with Sakamoto being one grade above. Each was a junior high graduate, and after working as civil engineering workers at Isaka Construction, a subsidiary of the Isaka Group, they were promoted to employees of the parent company Isaka Group nine years ago, and currently Sakamoto is in the Construction Department and Itagaki is in the Materials Department, each as a deputy chief.

They were rank-and-file employees at the time of the incident, but looking at their educational background and age, while it was a quite rapid career advancement, their work performance itself was actually quite good. Unlike the extreme promotions like Kitagawa and Shinoda's appointments as executives after the Sada Minoru murder case, it didn't seem to be perceived as such by those around them. Apparently, Isaka Masamitsu had also done that kind of "learning" from experiences such as being questioned voluntarily for the Sada Minoru murder case.

However, there seemed to be a rumor circulating within the company that their salaries were better than their positions suggested, and in fact, there was no doubt the two were flush with cash. They drove popular luxury SUVs, wore luxury watches, and there were witness reports of them frequenting high-end clubs in Kitami City night after night.

And above all, the two had been quite bad since their middle school days and belonged to the same delinquent group. Given their age, they didn't have arrest records, but they had numerous run-ins with the police for guidance, and it seemed they were two people who were quite marked even by the juvenile section of the Kitami Station's Life Safety Division back then.

That delinquent group apparently had generational ties with the Souryuu-kai, which has deep connections with the Isaka Group, and if the two were involved in the series of construction company shootings, based on Higashidate's testimony, they might have had some relationship with the Souryuu-kai, perhaps for shooting instruction. Above all, it was seen as highly likely they had such a connection to enter Isaka Construction.



"Good! For now, about those two... By the way, the detectives in Tokyo went to Ohara's bereaved family for a raid and hearing." When Nishida switched to a new topic he hadn't conveyed yet,

"To Aniki's place? I knew it would come to this, but I've caused trouble for that family too... But I couldn't just not take revenge for Aniki, so it can't be helped, right?" he spat out his feelings as if squeezing them out.

"For now, since that kind of thing just happened, they seem to be striving for a cautious hearing, so I don't think you need to worry too much about that. Also, looking at the results of the raid, I don't think it will cause major trouble for the family, right?" Nishida made a remark that was somewhat considerate of Higashidate.

"I think there's another son born now, so there should be three in the family... Even so, the wife must have been depressed after losing the breadwinner Aniki, but was everyone doing well?" Asked that, Nishida hesitated for a moment to answer, but

"Yeah, that's what I heard," the words slipped out of his mouth. Nishida hadn't been reported on such details by Sudo, but for some reason, he felt like glossing it over.



"Why did you say such a random thing? I heard they were being lenient, but still." On the way back from the interrogation room, Yoshimura questioned Nishida.

"I don't know myself. I just didn't want Higashidate to regret confessing, I guess..." He tried to analyze himself, but

"That would be one thing if Higashidate was properly reflecting and repenting, but the main purpose of his confession is just revenge for his Aniki, right? Is there any need to be that considerate of him?" Yoshimura replied with an air of skepticism, and from there, he walked a bit faster than Nishida.



After that, an investigation meeting by the investigation headquarters leadership began. Now that the three who aided and cooperated in the hospital shooting incident were identified, the remaining problems were what to do about the raid on Oshima Kaiji's election office, the timing of the three's arrests, and what to do about Isaka Masamitsu, the president of the Isaka Group.

Unless traces of the accidental shots certainly remained, a raid would not only be meaningless but could also give the influential opponent a pretext for a "counterattack." The possibility of collecting other traces of Higashidate and the others hiding, such as fingerprints, was even lower, so for that purpose, they wanted to grasp that there were traces of the shooting before the raid. If it were immediately after the incident rather than seven years later, a normal "one-shot" raid might have been possible, but the wall of time made them hesitate.

Furthermore, they wanted to arrest Isaka at the same time if possible, to clarify his involvement in the series of incidents without giving him time to destroy evidence. That said, currently, even if they could predict that he had given some instructions (solicitation or treatment as a conspiracy co-principal) to the two young employees regarding both the construction company and hospital shootings, whether they could actually arrest him was a quite delicate line based on the current "materials." A forced arrest wasn't impossible, but the consultant Lawyer Matsuda, who had troubled them seven years ago, would likely be there, and they wanted to avoid a conclusion that would result in an advantage for the opponent.

"What about the collaborator for the 'internal investigation' before the raid? Can't you find one?" Criminal Investigation Director Koyabu looked around at the attendees and confirmed, but not a single person raised their hand. Of course, he asked knowing that, but he had a gloomy face.

"To be honest, it's a quite difficult selection of people to find someone who has a relationship close enough to go in and out of Oshima's office, yet will cooperate with the police and not speak of it... It's unavoidable that it won't go so easily," Management Officer Tegoshi said, representing the frank feelings of all the attendees.

"That is the bottleneck after all." Perhaps out of frustration, Koyabu wrote some characters on the whiteboard behind him that were indistinguishable to others. Perhaps he knew best that it was meaningless, as he quickly erased them himself.

"What about the contractors who go in and out of the office?"

"I've thought about that too, but for a contractor, especially with a local influential person, it would be tough for them too. In the first place, isn't the point that at the stage of requesting this matter of those 'targets,' we'd have to be quite careful, just like with individuals?" Nishida was also at his wit's end on this point.

"The current situation is that we can't even do a search for collaborators across the whole police force, so the moves are limited. After all, regarding the top secrets, we're doing this without revealing the full picture even to the other guys in the investigation headquarters." Section Chief Mitani also didn't hide his "hands up" attitude.

"It's just a little bit more. Can't we do something!" Koyabu's roar of pent-up frustration also only echoed hollowly in the meeting room.



Sunday, July 21st. Nishida and the others, who were looking into the arrest case for Isaka Masamitsu, received interesting information from Sanada, who was conducting an internal investigation. At multiple contractors, about three years ago, Isaka had occasionally received blank receipts without anything written on them. Sanada reported that he was likely writing in the amounts himself and inflating expenses.

Originally, regarding tax-related matters, Section Chief Kurusu of the Kitami Regional HQ had told Nishida seven years ago that the Isaka Group and the Isaka family were clean, but finally, they must have been swallowed by the wave of the construction slump...

However, for the investigators, it was a godsend (T/N: watari ni fune — a boat at a crossing). A chance for a separate case arrest for forgery of private documents had emerged. If they couldn't arrest Isaka, a tax-related case could become a hassle in the investigation with the intervention of tax authorities, but if they could secure Isaka himself, there was no need to worry about that. Nishida instructed Sanada to proceed further with the internal investigation.

Monday, July 22nd. Nishida took the plunge and proposed to Koyabu in the Criminal Investigation Director's office to share the overall investigation information within a certain range in the detective divisions of both the Kitami Regional HQ and the Kitami Station. By doing this, the aim was to increase the "veins" for finding a connection who could go in and out of Oshima Kaiji's office and would likely cooperate with the investigation.

Originally, the strict management of investigation information was Nishida's own assertion, but this was effectively a withdrawal of that policy. Even though the collaborators in the incident had been smoked out by Higashidate's testimony, simply wasting time would risk missing the opportunity for arrest. Reaching a conclusion on whether they could raid Oshima Kaiji's office at an early stage and, if possible, conducting the raid and the arrests of the three at the same time was the most sought-after investigation.

The problem was the information leak due to the expansion of the information-sharing targets, but he tried to overcome this by finding a collaborator in a short period. In the first place, looking at the flow recently, Nishida didn't have the sense that information was leaking outside, and he also thought it might be okay to loosen the management slightly.

However, to repeat, it was naturally necessary to find them in as short a period as possible, preferably within a few days. Needless to say, it also had the aspect of a kind of gamble. Both Koyabu and Mitani showed a certain understanding of Nishida's proposal, but considering the reason they had supported Nishida's information management line in the first place, it goes without saying they also showed concern at the same time.

"Can you find them immediately? The longer it takes, the harder information management becomes, you know?" Mitani seemed to be of the opinion that they should stay with the previous line if anything.

"But it can't be helped if we just leave it like this."

"That's true, but even if there's no leak from the investigators' side, for the person identified as a collaborator, we'd be requesting them to investigate something to some extent in a state where it's not clear if they'll cooperate or not, and if they're told 'keep it quiet,' the person requested will wonder 'what's going on'..." Koyabu was also certainly not what you'd call enthusiastic.

"After providing information to the investigators, let's have them list who the person is who can be asked for a 'preview' of the raid. And we'll only permit execution for those we can give the go-ahead for here." At such an assertion from Nishida,

"That's true, but we've effectively been trying to do that until now... It's just that until now, there was no selection process for collaborators by us," Koyabu replied.

"If we do that firmly, I think we can manage for a short period!" Nishida did not flinch and pressed the two for a decision.

"...Fine, if Nishida says that much, let's do it." Ultimately, Koyabu reluctantly agreed in a form of being pushed, but he didn't look very convinced.

When he returned to the investigation headquarters, Yoshimura spoke to Nishida while holding the morning edition of the Hokkaido Shinpo.

"It seems the Boss's wife died yesterday." Saying so, he showed the obituary column to Nishida. Even obituaries from Engaru are listed in the Kitami area obituary column. "Ah, so she didn't make it after all..." Nishida said, sensing the Boss's feelings.

"That's right... You can go for just three hours. I'll manage to arrange that much time. Right now, we're in the middle of slightly modifying the investigation policy, and there's nothing that needs to be done immediately."

Even if the investigation was at a standstill, leaving while investigating a big case would normally never be allowed, but he made an exceptionally lenient judgment, thinking it would be fine to let him go if he was just being kept on standby anyway.

"No, are you really sure?" To Yoshimura, who repeated the confirmation in a low voice several times,

"I said it's fine! Oh, by the way, please take my incense money (T/N: kouden) too. Have the bank change it to a crisp bill." Nishida took a ten-thousand-yen bill from his wallet and entrusted it to Yoshimura.

"Understood. Then, I'm sorry, but I'll go home quickly and head there immediately." Saying so, he dashed out of the room.



According to Yoshimura, who returned from the wake after 9:00 PM, the Boss had actually been told by the doctor this spring to be prepared. That said, he couldn't hide the sadness of losing the wife he had been with for many years.

The son living in Asahikawa, who had returned for his mother's death, apparently said, "I was told to come here on this occasion." The management of the shop also seemed to be struggling, and it looked like he was considering it quite seriously, Yoshimura reported to Nishida.

*

July 23rd. While searching for a detective in the detective divisions of the Kitami Regional HQ and the Kitami Station who might have a lead on someone who would cooperate in the preliminary investigation of the raid after providing information, they found a detective in the Theft Section of the Kitami Station whose father was in Oshima's supporters' association. The father himself had originally joined through work connections and wasn't particularly a supporter of Oshima, and it was said he would definitely cooperate.

That detective's name was Kagawa. The father currently resides in his hometown of Tokoro Town (currently Tokoro, Kitami City due to the merger in 2006), but he used to work at the Kitami Chamber of Commerce office. Kagawa's judgment was that even if something happened, it wouldn't cause trouble for him now, nor would he be troubled, but of course, he hadn't confirmed it directly with his father yet, and the final judgment would be after that. However, it was certain that the view had opened up a bit.

July 24th. Kagawa conveyed his father's answer. Unlike Kagawa's prior judgment, he said he was quite reluctant. The reason was simple. For himself, who had currently retired, there was no problem, but he still had to think about the people remaining in the Chamber of Commerce and such.

However, ultimately, partly because no other suitable person was found besides Kagawa's father, Nishida requested Kagawa again to persuade his father to cooperate. And on the night of that day, a call came from Tokoro from Kagawa saying that he had somehow managed to persuade him. He had gone all the way to Tokoro Town to persuade him directly. Nishida thanked Kagawa for his dedicated cooperation, and immediately after the clue to solving the case became clearly visible, he heard words from Kagawa's mouth that plunged him into the depths of hell.

"My old man says, 'The next social gathering for supporters is on August 8th, before Obon, so then,' but is that okay? I'm not directly involved in the investigation, so I don't really know, but it's fine, right?"

"Wait a minute! He can't enter the office until that day?"

"Yeah. Even though he's a supporter, he's not the enthusiastic type who goes to the office frequently, and he says if it's going to the fourth floor, only a social gathering comes to mind."

At this point, the investigation leadership, led by Nishida, realized they had made a terrible oversight. Even if it's someone who can enter the office, it doesn't mean they can enter at any time, nor can they go to any room freely. Unless they were a quite important supporter or associate for Oshima, there would naturally be limits.

And there was an even bigger problem. The detention for Higashidate's murder was limited to 20 days including extensions, but the final day was August 3rd. No, to be precise, since August 3rd was a Saturday, due to the issue of the prosecutor's settlement, they effectively had to decide whether to indict by Friday, August 2nd. Depending on the charges, it's not impossible to extend for another five days, but since it's not applied to crimes other than specific serious crimes like insurrection, it naturally couldn't be applied in Higashidate's case.

If this happened, it would be necessary to indict Higashidate for murder by then, but at this point, unlike at the time of arrest, they couldn't help but leak the information "indictment of the perpetrator of the Kitami Kyoritsu Hospital shooting" to the news organizations.

If that happened, it would inevitably be conveyed to the people who participated and cooperated in the hospital shooting at the time that "the hand of investigation is approaching." In that case, it wouldn't be strange if they moved to destroy evidence or flee. That's why it's necessary to finish the raid and the arrest of the target persons before Higashidate's indictment for murder.

"This is bad. Was the outlook too naive..." Koyabu stood up from his chair in frustration and walked around the windows of the Criminal Investigation Director's office, but since he himself was involved in that judgment, he couldn't blame anyone and sat back down deeply in his chair.

"Either way, time is quite limited, and it's safe to say there's no possibility of more collaborators emerging from within. If it comes to it, we may have to be prepared to burst in without an internal investigation," Nishida said.

"No, no! If the opponent were an ordinary person, that would be fine, but since failure of the raid is absolutely not allowed, we have to confirm in advance that there are definitely bullet holes, right? If it's been remodeled, it'll all be for nothing. It's true that even without bullet holes, the involvement of the Oshima office can be established by several disclosures of secrets, but if we raid and the bullet holes don't appear, it will actually give the opponent at least some pretext to cast doubt on the credibility of Higashidate's testimony... Let alone the opponent is Oshima. A single ant hole can become a large hole," Mitani strongly countered.

"But is this a time to be saying such leisurely things? I don't think so," Nishida countered heatedly, to which Koyabu said,

"This isn't an ordinary case! If we mess up, it could involve not just the head of the Kitami region, but the Hokkaido Police HQ—no, even the NPA!" he scolded him clearly for once. Even so, Nishida did not break his attitude of not being convinced.