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 nail down the specifics on that later... For now, even if it's not perfectly clear, I want you to tell us more about the final decision to execute the murder plan that had already been decided, and the instructions given on the day of the incident in more detail."
"Even if you ask for details..."
Higashidate hesitated at Nishida's question. In truth, it was a bit too abstract a question.
"Then... let's start with the preliminary training leading up to the day of execution. You said you were training immediately after the decision to execute the murder was made, but how many times did you do it? In the previous hearing, you said 'a few times,' but if you know the specific number, that's even better."
There was no point in pursuing unclear points with excessive detail; since he had already provided most of the detailed information he could, it would likely be a waste of time. Causing him stress might also affect the subsequent hearings, so Nishida continued to probe the boundaries.
"Well... we must have repeated it at least five times that day. ...Maybe six times? The next day, we did it three times during the same time slot."
"You repeated it quite thoroughly, didn't you?"
Yoshimura cut in.
"Well, yeah, it was a big job... Even so, Kagami thought it wasn't enough; he was complaining to the old man, saying things like 'Let me do it a bit more.' Since it was unfamiliar territory, even if it was close by, he was getting nervous. Kagami was the driver for both the real thing and the practice, so I was a bit more relaxed, but considering his position, it couldn't be helped. However, the old man said, 'It'll be bad later if we stand out more than necessary beforehand,' so we didn't do any more than that."
Nishida was grateful that Higashidate had answered who was driving before even being asked.
"Write down the seating arrangement for the four of you during those practice sessions."
When Nishida instructed him to write in the margin of the notepad from earlier, Higashidate immediately began writing.
"I was in the passenger seat, the old man was behind the driver, and the Aniki was behind me. For the real thing, the two in the back were just gone."
"Was the practice vehicle a standard 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. I'm sure the color was black. However, it was probably an office car, but I have a strong impression that it wasn't an obviously high-end type that a 'Member of Parliament' would ride in."
Higashidate answered Nishida's questions briskly. He seemed to have quite a good memory here as well. So far, this was a very satisfying interrogation.
"Good, good! I see, I understand. So, pulling the car up next to the emergency stairs on the day was just like in practice, but was that instruction given by the old man?"
"That's right. Like I said before, 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 office in advance, did you?"
"No, during the second day of practice, we did practice once up until just before entering the floor after going up the emergency stairs. We didn't enter the floor then, though."
"You did quite a thorough job beforehand..."
Nishida was, perhaps 'impressed' was an exaggeration, but he was in a sense 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 made it this far without getting caught is partly because we were proper about things like that. On the second day, we even practiced once moving to the car driven by the old man from the meeting spot after escaping."
Higashidate's sense of guilt regarding the murder itself remained light, but now was not the time to condemn that. Then, Nishida brought up a significant doubt he had been concerned about as an important question.
"Including the time of the execution and the practice sessions, it seems like you were operating under the assumption that there would be no people on the floor. However, depending on the time of execution, wasn't there naturally a possibility that many people would be there? In that regard... and I mean only in that regard, it seems like a rather forced, or should I say, sloppy criminal plan."
"Ah, about that..."
Higashidate gave an exaggerated reaction, putting both hands behind his head as if the question was exactly on point.
"During practice, we also asked the old man if the time for execution was already decided. When we did, he said, 'It partly depends on the other party, but I've arranged it so that the other party will act that way during the time we're practicing now,' and I was a bit confused. But, I was convinced by the explanation after that. That part stuck in my memory quite well."
"Can you explain what that was about!?"
Nishida demanded an answer strongly. This was a very important part. He requested it frankly, not even hiding his agitation.
"I don't know if I can explain it well, but... Apparently, someone—I don't know who—had 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 was because we could execute it at the same time as practice without being seen by anyone..."
As he spoke, he pressed his fist to his mouth, perhaps trying to make his memory clearer. Then, he added:
"Um... Something about giving the impression that people inconvenient for the old man were staking out the hospital during the day or something... I don't think I heard anything more specific than that at the time. Anyway, he said the arrangements were in place to naturally lead to that situation. He seemed pretty confident. He told us, 'Don't worry.'"
Nishida couldn't fully understand the meaning of this either, but in reality, Higashidate and the others probably hadn't been given a detailed explanation. There would have been no point in explaining things to Higashidate and the others that couldn't be understood without assuming the relationship between the murdered Matsushima and Oshima.
Nishida understood it this way: perhaps a spy from Oshima's side, which was becoming hostile, had given Matsushima the impression that they were lurking inside the hospital through Hamana, the Union Leader who committed suicide? And so, they created the necessity to call Detective Kitamura during a time when there were no people around.
Hamana, who committed suicide, might have very well behaved in front of Matsushima as if he were Matsushima's ally. Otherwise, Matsushima wouldn't have gone out of his way to be hospitalized at Hamana's hospital, which was actually under Oshima's influence. A wiretap in a hospital room isn't something that can be installed so easily unless the other party lets their guard down. Nishida understood well that they had prepared quite meticulously, including the use of the Union Leader's office and the instructions to make people take off their shoes when entering.
"I see. That's enough for that for now. Now, about the instruction to carry it out on the day of the execution; I've already heard about the time the instruction came, but what was the atmosphere like when he gave that instruction? What was the old man like?"
"Since what we had to do was decided in advance, I don't think he seemed panicked. Our minds were made up too, so we must have felt like, 'Finally, it's time.' If possible, we would have liked to train a bit more, but being made to wait for a long time is also painful."
Here, Yoshimura asked reproachfully.
"Did you guys know that besides the old man Matsushima, there was a nurse and a detective in the room?"
This question was similar to the one Kusaka had asked earlier, but Yoshimura probably couldn't help but say it.
"We were told just before that there would be a nurse and another man besides the old man. However, I only found out that the man was a detective after seeing it on the news after the incident. Anyway, we were told to kill everyone who was in the room with the old man, so it's too late now... I felt like complaining, but well, once you've killed three people, it's already... Either way, if we get caught, we're finished, so there's no difference whether he's a detective or not."
He seemed to understand well enough 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, how much time was there before you got into the stolen car in the parking lot?"
When Nishida asked again, Higashidate replied,
"We were in a state where we could leave at any time, so getting ready must have only taken a few minutes. However, before that, we did a thorough review—or rather, a meeting and confirmation of the procedures. So, like I said before, the instruction was probably just before 6:00 PM, and I think we spent nearly 30 minutes on the check..."
Higashidate didn't seem very confident at this point, but Nishida felt that his testimony so far was basically consistent.
"And then, you two finally got into the stolen car that was covered with a sheet in the parking lot, right? I want to check something; what did you do about 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 keys left in it, so this could be verified. Next was the car model; the one stolen was a silver family sedan.
"So you had the key. And you said you got into the stolen car the day before too?"
Nishida confirmed something that had bothered him during the previous interrogation.
"When I say 'got in,' like I said, I didn't, only Kagami did. And apparently, he only started the engine and didn't actually move it; he just sat in the driver's seat to check. I think he said he didn't move it because there'd be no point if he got caught driving it beforehand. I was watching TV in the room upstairs at the time. As the one driving, I guess he wanted to check it in advance."
"Do you know the model of that car?"
"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 verified by his 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 from there, and sneaked into the Union Leader's office just like in practice. Do you know roughly how many minutes it took, or what time you entered the Union Leader's office?"
"I didn't measure how long it took on the day, but since it was about five minutes during the practice stage, it was probably the same on the day. I think it was past 6:30 when we entered the Union Leader's office."
"Did you start wiretapping immediately after that?"
"Yeah, immediately."
"In that case, how did you decide on the timing for the execution?"
"The old man had instructed us that the man coming to get the paper would probably enter and say something about the paper, so we waited for that timing. He seemed to know we would arrive first. And I knew that he entered the hospital room not long after we arrived. From there, I had a final meeting with Kagami, collected the receiver, put on the balaclavas we had prepared, went out to that hallway from earlier, put on our shoes, and then burst in. ...Of course, we were carefully checking to make sure there were no people around, so maybe 'bursting in' isn't the right word..."
"What did you think after you fired the handgun without a word?"
To be honest, this question had almost nothing to do with the investigation, but for some reason, Nishida had asked it unconsciously. Even immediately after he finished saying it, he didn't really 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 I killed them, I tried not to have any emotions. Until then, I had experience hitting and being hit, but I had never done a killing. It was a piece (T/N: slang for handgun), so there was no pain on my end. Only the blood splattering on the walls and curtains made me feel that I had done it... Also, my mind was focused on collecting the paper and wiretap as requested, and on escaping."
Higashidate answered flatly, still showing no remorse on the surface.
Yoshimura was staring intently at Higashidate, but strangely, Nishida didn't feel that much anger at this answer either. He could never forget the hatred he felt at the time when his partner was killed, but he felt as if all those explosive emotions were now being directed into the pursuit of the man right in front of him. And he even harbored the thought that the meaning of asking Higashidate that question unconsciously just a moment ago was only to test for himself whether that 'feeling' was real when he heard Higashidate's answer. Of course, Nishida wasn't sure if that was the real reason, but...
"What was Kagami's reaction when you accidentally let out your Abe and country accent after the killing, while collecting the paper and wiretap?"
He shifted his mood and asked a new question.
"I don't think there was any particular reaction. But then, it wasn't a situation where we could check things like that one by one. I think I was aware that I had said something bad, though... Well, even so, it wasn't the kind of thing that would lead to us getting caught immediately, so I didn't think about it that seriously."
"I see. And then you collected the paper and wiretap, went outside, and escaped to the emergency stairs. You said you didn't notice you were being watched."
"Yeah, I didn't know. If I had noticed, I might have opened fire if things went south. It's a good thing I didn't notice—for me and for the person who saw us."
Nishida also felt that it was a good thing no unnecessary victims were created.
"From there, you got into the car you came in and went to the vacant lot that was the meeting spot, right? It shouldn't have taken much time, but how long did it take for the old man and your Aniki, Ohara, to come pick you up, just like in practice?"
"It was immediately after we arrived because I had contacted the Aniki on his cell phone from the passenger seat as soon as we got in the car at the hospital parking lot. This was exactly as we had practiced on the second day, with the old man and the Aniki coming to pick us up at the vacant lot as a set with us going up the emergency stairs."
From Higashidate's previous testimony and this one, it meant that although the number of times was few, the second day of practice was already quite tense.
"I see, you contacted him by cell phone... What did you do with the balaclavas?"
"If you're driving a car while wearing a balaclava, you'll be considered extremely suspicious the moment you're spotted. I took it off the moment we left the parking lot."
That was likely when the hairs of the two people remaining in the car had fallen out with a high probability.
"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. We had considered the trunk beforehand, but the old man advised that it would be better to act dignified even if we got caught in a checkpoint. He said, 'I can get through on my face alone,' so I guess he was confident. Although I thought the old man was a secretary, I didn't know for sure who he was... until I came to Kitami, but with those words, I knew he was a very influential person in the region. That's when I became certain he was definitely Oshima's secretary."
Higashidate, as usual, stated a surprisingly rational thought.
"And you arrived at the office without any problems?"
"Yeah, I remember we had to wait for a right turn, but we didn't get caught by any lights. The reason I remember is, well, I guess I was thinking about getting there as quickly as possible... There's no doubt I was constantly nervous inside. I think all three of us were restless. But, only the old man was strangely calm. He must have been confident in his 'face.'"
Responding to Yoshimura's string of questions, Higashidate rolled his neck, seemingly loosening the stiffness in his neck and shoulders. Nishida and Yoshimura, who had been interrogating him the whole time, didn't consciously match him, but they also relaxed their bodies as if to release tension. All three must have been naturally tense. They could understand Kusaka's fatigue from earlier through their own bodies.
"Looking back now, those nearly two hours were the longest two hours of my life... Although I ended up finding out the meaning of what I had done from the news that night..."
As Higashidate resumed talking while watching the two men in front of him,
"Did you regret it?"
Yoshimura asked in a low voice.
"Not really. If I were to regret anything there, I'd rather regret being born..."
Higashidate bluffed, but a fleeting sense of vanity drifted across his expression. Given what he had done, he could hardly be called a decent human being, but he did have the consideration to sense the feelings of the Aniki who had taken care of him. Judging by his attitude until his confession, Nishida, who had lost his partner, had no intention of forgiving him easily, but looking at his upbringing, there was no doubt that his life had been one where he kept making small wrong turns somewhere.
"By the way, what did you eventually do with the collected paper, notes, and wiretap?"
Nishida asked about what had been on his mind.
"I must have handed the paper and such to the old man. The wiretap, including the receiver, went straight into the trash after I stepped on them and broke them... Even so, I never thought the whole story of the incident was being recorded the whole time. What kind of trick was that?"
He shook his head several times with an indescribable look on his face, but it was true that Kitamura's recording remained due to the stroke of luck that it happened to overlap with his plan to go to karaoke. Along with the worst misfortune for Kitamura...
That said, looking back at Higashidate's confession so far, it was probably an unavoidable fate—or rather, destiny. For Nishida, there was no other way to distract himself from his helplessness than to think so, and he remained without answering Higashidate's question. Higashidate also seemed to sense something from Nishida's demeanor and didn't ask any further.
*
"Now then... After returning to Oshima's office, in what kind of situation were you and for how long? You mentioned that you moved 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 those two young guys bought various things for us just like before. Except for not doing gun training, I guess it was almost the same as before... Then, after making sure the police movement had settled down a bit, we left Kitami at noon in the old man's car. The reason was that being in the middle of the day would actually be less suspicious. Also, I remember that at that time there were no other people in the office, and we just used the stairs inside the office to go down to the exit on the parking lot side. So I think it was either Saturday or Sunday."
In response to this statement, Yoshimura checked the pocket diary with a calendar from 1995 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 from the crime date of the 11th, which was a Saturday. Considering the information that Oshima's office is often open on Saturdays, it could be said that the possibility of Sunday the 19th was high.
"I see. I understand that part. Now, tell me in detail about the place where you were newly hiding."
"It was a fairly large building, like a rest house near a hot spring town, but they said it wasn't usually used... Apparently, we could have used the hot spring if we wanted, but the two young guys who were waiting there said the hot spring was stopped because there was no manager. I remember the Aniki and Kagami looked disappointed and were lightly frustrated. They were like, 'To think we can't get into the hot spring we went all this way for.'"
"Did those two take care of you there as well?"
"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 since this was a wishful question from Nishida, wondering if they might have been wearing Isaka Group work clothes, it couldn't be helped.
"Was life there similar to how it was in Kitami?"
Nishida's rapid-fire questions made him look a bit fed up, but he answered firmly.
"Well, yeah, but we kept the curtains closed even during the day. Those two youngsters told us not to give off much of a sense that people were there. They said it would be troublesome if people around thought something unusual was happening because it's not usually used. They even gave us a piece of paper with a phone number on it and told us to give it to anyone who came to check and have them call that number."
"I don't suppose you remember that phone number? Or did you hear whose phone number it was?"
Nishida knew it was a long shot, but he asked just in case.
"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 this somewhat useful information,
"Does that mean the other party was a landline?"
Nishida asked without thinking.
"Probably. Well, don't take it as a definite. I can't guarantee it."
If it were a cell phone, there was a possibility it was the cell phone of one of the two young men, but Nishida thought that since it was a landline and a phone number to give to someone who came to check for suspicious persons, it might have been a number for some department of the Isaka Group. Rubeshibe and Kitami should have had the same area code at that time. If so, since it was a training facility, it might be a department related to personnel or general affairs.
"What about the floor plan, or your memory of what kind of building it was?"
"I think it was two stories, and the rooms were only on the second floor... about six rooms. They were all about the same size... about 12 tatami mats? The first floor had a dining room, toilets, and a big hall, so 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 floor plan of the rest house they had obtained and Higashidate's testimony almost matched. This would also fall under the disclosure of secrets. Nishida's confidence in the content of the testimony had become quite high at this point, as Higashidate had been giving proper testimony throughout the series of interrogations.
"And so, you reached the day of escape without being found by anyone, right? I heard the departure was during the day, but did you leave cautiously then too? Also, those two were there during the day, but were they in plain clothes?"
"On the day of departure, we were paying attention to our surroundings just in case, but I don't think we were being that sneaky. Those two were also in plain clothes. Like I said before, we each got our tickets from those two."
"Then, I have something to ask too."
Yoshimura claimed his right to question for the first time in a while.
"You said the three of you went back separately, but how was the order decided?"
"About that, according to the message from the old man, Kagami, who was carrying back the handgun and bullets, was the priority. It didn't matter to the Aniki or me, but the Aniki seemed to want to let me, the perpetrator, go first. However, I showed respect to the Aniki and had him go first."
Here, Nishida checked if Yoshimura wanted to ask more, and when he shook his head, Nishida decided to ask himself.
"You boarded from Rubeshibe Station, right? Is this correct?"
As he said this, he showed a photo of Rubeshibe Station that was in the police records. Higashidate looked closely as if peering into it, but
"Hmm, I wonder. I feel like that was it, but..."
He didn't seem certain. Well, there was no need to obsess over this more than necessary, so he moved on to the next question.
"You said you were the last to leave; was it in the evening?"
"No, I left after noon. I'm sure I bought an ekiben (T/N: station bento) and got on."
From this, it could be determined that the train Higashidate took was likely the Okhotsk No. 6.
"Did you go straight back to Tokyo? Did you stop anywhere?"
Nishida wanted to ask because there was the example of Motohashi, who had returned while audaciously sightseeing even after the murder.
"Stop? I just got off at Sapporo and stayed the night... I was told to find my own lodging, so I stayed at the Sunrise Hotel near Susukino. I was used to it because I stayed there several times when I went to Sapporo... But I wasn't in the mood to drink, so I didn't leave the hotel. The next day, according to the ticket I had received, I took the limited express to Hakodate from the morning, transferred, and went back on the Tohoku Shinkansen. It was evening when I got back to Tokyo. The sunset was unusually beautiful... Well, I had been given a ticket to Tokyo, but in my case, I could have taken a plane with my own money, but for some reason, I wanted to take my time going back. Apparently, the 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, I'm sure it wasn't a plane, right? Is this enough?"
As he said this, Higashidate gestured for a cigarette. Yoshimura took a cigarette out of his breast pocket with a look of 'here we go again,' handed it to Higashidate, and lit it for him.
"I still have things I want to ask about what happened after that, so bear with me a bit longer."
Nishida said this while watching Higashidate, then handed him an ashtray and waited for him to finish smoking. Higashidate blew out smoke and stared at the two of them.
"I don't think what I did will be forgiven, but even so, the Aniki is innocent, at least regarding the killing. Can I assume that the reason the Aniki, as well as the Shiun-kai and the Sunpu Group, were killed—probably on orders from the Aoi-ikka—was because of my incident?"
"That's just a possibility, and it's by no means certain. It's worth considering that there were other reasons as well."
Nishida avoided making a definitive statement, keeping in mind the 'warning' aspect—the possibility that the collaboration of both organizations with the Eda-gumi had invited the incident—which he had not mentioned when he told Higashidate about the bombing.
"Hey, hey! That's not what you said! Those two detectives from earlier said the purpose was to silence people about the incident!"
Higashidate, perhaps feeling deceived into confessing, stood up with enough force to almost strike them, but Yoshimura immediately restrained him. Nishida looked up at Higashidate while remaining seated.
"I'm sorry those 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 told us this much. Of course, I believe there was an aspect of the bombing being for the purpose of silencing! On top of that, I only said that other causes might have also been involved."
He didn't break his calm attitude and spoke each word clearly and deliberately. 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 checked as if he had given up, but
"I don't know for sure. However, I think the fact that they did it at this timing was probably for another reason. I'm looking at it as if silencing about your incident also became a reason by taking advantage of that."
Higashidate still couldn't hide his irritation at Nishida's frank statement, but he placed his cigarette in the ashtray, leaned his upper body on the desk toward the two detectives, and said in a low, threatening voice,
"I understand that... But you better take revenge for the Aniki! Don't let my confession end with him being treated like a disposable pawn!"
Nishida, needless to say, was not intimidated by this.
"Our department isn't the one directly investigating the bombing. It's the Metropolitan Police Department. A half-baked promise is fundamentally impossible."
He spoke the facts as they were without averting his gaze. If he said anything more convenient, Higashidate would only get even angrier later when he realized he'd been deceived. Higashidate made a gesture as if jerking his chin up with a 'Hmph,' and said,
"I guess expecting anything from the cops is fundamentally useless."
He spoke spitefully and put the cigarette back to his mouth.
Naturally, he must have been carrying the burden of guilt for the incident, but Nishida felt a sense of helplessness at his attitude of prioritizing loyalty to his Aniki over reflection on his own behavior. However, this was not the time to be obsessed with that.
"How was it after you returned to Tokyo? Including your excuses to the group for the Aniki's matter and your absence from Tokyo."
Yoshimura asked anew, probably also to change the atmosphere, timing it for after Higashidate had stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray. Mentally, Nishida was inwardly grateful that he had moved at this timing.
"About the Aniki, since it was the Boss's order, it was fine for the underlings to just say things like 'What were you doing?' As for me, I guess the Boss and the executives just made some sarcastic remarks... After all, it was already decided that I would quit the group. I remember that from then until I quit, there weren't any problems."
"In other words, within the group, the crime was just ignored as it was?"
"I guess you could think of it that way. Apparently, the Aniki reported the results to the Boss, Kamikawa, but well, it was on the news, so it didn't matter. I guess the report went to the Aoi-ikka from Kamikawa? It seems Kamikawa didn't say anything to the Aniki about that, though."
At this time, there was no doubt that Ohara had reported falsely that he was the one who did the killing.
"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 taken care of at his place and became independent in my fourth year. The business itself wasn't going that well, but with support from the Aniki, I was able to live a decent life. That's the end of my story."
Higashidate didn't hide his manner of having finished a job. In response,
"Even if you say 'the end,' I still have things to ask, so it's just the end for today, and the interrogation itself isn't over!"
Yoshimura, who had been continuing the questions, emphasized.
"Yes, yes, I understand! More importantly, the guy who killed the Aniki—Aoi is definitely involved, so do something about it!"
Higashidate must have intended it as encouragement for the detectives, but he acted threateningly again.
*
After the interrogation was over for the time being, an investigation meeting was held again regarding the subsequent investigation. Unfortunately, Kamikawa, the Sunpu Group Boss who was seen as having given direct instructions to Ohara for the Kyoritsu Hospital shooting incident, and Ohara had already been killed in the bombing, so the resolution of the incident through that route was cut off. Also, the Kagami route had virtually failed to result in an indictment during the investigation several years ago. Therefore, the current situation was that it would be quite difficult to resolve the case by linking it to Oshima through the organized crime route.
However, if several facts could be confirmed, there was a possibility of backing up Higashidate's testimony, so there was still room to link it directly 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 on the 4th 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 secrets can be proven. Furthermore, if the results of the bullet component analysis match those used in the execution, it will further strengthen the evidence of the crime.
2) The existence of an elderly man, presumably a secretary, at Oshima Kaiji's office and two young male collaborators has been 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 seen to have been involved. Based on the form of criminal involvement in the Kitami Kyoritsu Hospital shooting incident, the aim is to indict the man seen as the secretary for joint principal murder, and the young men for aiding and abetting murder. Regarding the crime of harboring a criminal, the statute of limitations has expired, and since it would originally be absorbed into each indictment requirement (murder/aiding and abetting murder), it is outside the scope of consideration.
4) Also, the statute of limitations for theft (theft of a vehicle to procure an escape vehicle), presumably by the two men, is seven years, so indictment is possible at this point. Unidentified hairs remain in the stolen escape vehicle besides those of Kagami and Higashidate, and after identifying the two men, it should be checked if they match at the time of arrest for aiding and abetting murder, or by requesting a physical examination warrant and taking hair samples after permission.
Furthermore, in order 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 auto theft, and indictment as a separate theft case, rather than as part of aiding and abetting murder, will also be considered for the time being. Regarding the secretary, it falls under the crime of storing stolen goods (storing a stolen vehicle) within the crime of involvement with stolen goods, but this also cannot be indicted due to the statute of limitations.
5) There is also a possibility that the two were involved in the shooting incidents at construction companies in the Kitami and Abashiri regions that occurred frequently before the hospital shooting incident (this can also be indicted as the statute of limitations is seven years, as the violation of possession of handguns, etc., in the Swords and Firearms Control Law carries a maximum of 10 years in prison). They can be pursued after arrest for aiding and abetting murder.
6) 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 there is a possibility that someone in 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—that is, his instructions and orders—is suspected, including all the above crimes in which the two young men were involved.
End
*
Naturally, in order to scientifically back up the involvement of Oshima Kaiji's office side, securing evidence that they were conducting target practice 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, the fact that most of the crimes barely made it within the seven-year statute of limitations was at least a bit of good luck.
"Even if the people in the office didn't recognize them as bullet holes, if they were normally repaired or renovated during remodeling, there's nothing we can do about bullet holes from seven years ago."
When Yoshimura pointed this out,
"Seven years... It's a delicate point. If it were poor people, it would be one thing, but it's Oshima's office. It wouldn't be strange if they'd done some remodeling."
Kusaka also 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 it immediately."
Mitani voiced an objection to Koyabu's opinion.
"It's true that we want to raid it as soon as possible, but won't various problems arise unless we arrest the three—preferably President Isaka Masamitsu as well—at the same time? It would be troublesome if they coordinated their stories, and I can't stand it if any evidence is destroyed. We have to finish them all at once... To be honest, we have to do Oshima Kaiji too, but that's impossible unless we pile up quite a bit of evidence..."
"We have to consider various timings too..."
In response to Mitani's opinion, Koyabu lightly struck the desk two or three times with his fist while wearing a sour expression.
"In any case, now that we've approached the main stronghold, we must avoid haste. However, if it comes down to it, we'll need to be bold. First, I want to firmly conduct preliminary verification. The problem is that the statute of limitations is approaching for the Sada Minoru case, and we have to be somewhat 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 target, for the person seen as the secretary, we have no choice but to go straight for joint principal in the hospital shooting incident. However, for the two young men, there seem to be various ways to go about it. Regarding the construction company shootings, it's currently difficult to find evidence, so is that on the back burner... As for the theft of the escape vehicle, it's more appropriate for evidence collection to take hair samples and analyze them after obtaining a physical examination warrant following an arrest for aiding and abetting murder, so I guess this is also on the back burner in the end... In that case, is it best to go straight for aiding and abetting murder from the start? In the end, it'll be a similar approach for both... What should we do about Isaka? Since it's unlikely the two young men could do as they pleased, are we aiming for solicitation? Or treat it as conspiracy joint principal by emphasizing his nature as a principal... That's probably how it actually was, but either way, it's going to be a very close arrest, unless it's after we interrogate the two and get testimony of his involvement."
Yoshimura listed his findings in rapid succession,
"That's right. As a result, the plan is to arrest the one who seems to be the secretary at the main stronghold, and for the young ones, investigate various things after that and re-arrest them for long-term detention if we can indict them... It's the reverse pattern of the usual separate (arrest), but it can't be helped. As for Isaka, well... I don't want to think about it now."
Mitani agreed while giving a wry smile.