Chapter 118 - Name and Reality 41 {69 Solo} (158–159: Isaka Masamitsu's Monologue 6 — Oshima Kaiji, The Reason)
"And finally, in Showa 62 (1987), a single disaster must have befallen your old man, who was leading an outwardly successful life. The sudden appearance of Sada Minoru, the younger brother of Sada Toru, who was a witness to the gold dust inheritance. From being the one doing the blackmailing, he became the one being blackmailed by a man who knew the past he didn't want revealed."
Masamitsu, questioned again by Nishida as the opportunity arose, sat up straight in his chair as if to stretch his spine.
"That's right. I suppose this is the story you detectives really want to hear,"
He said somewhat dismissively.
"Of course it is. This is the core of the case! My honest wish is for you to speak without hiding anything."
Nishida expressed his straightforward thoughts. With a strong desire... Whether he knew that feeling or not—no, he likely had no intention of lying at all—Masamitsu began to speak haltingly.
"It seems it started with a letter arriving from Sada Minoru around September? Of course, learning that it was Sada's doing is a story for later. In it, it was written to my old man, 'I know you beat a man named Takamura to death before the war,' and it was apparently accompanied by copies of a letter left by Sada Toru and the written pledge respectively. So, my old man ended up meeting that Sada Minoru directly. However, by then, my old man had already made up his mind to eliminate the opponent. He didn't take kindly to the status he had built over many years being threatened. If you call it a trivial thing, it's exactly that... But unfortunately, humans are creatures who don't want to let go of the fruit they've once obtained. As I mentioned earlier, even though I was troubled, I had already experienced a time when I weighed my sense of justice against the good life I got from the Isaka Group, and in the end, the desire not to lose it won out. So when I heard the story, although I outwardly lamented it as 'a foolish thing,' inwardly I couldn't completely deny my old man's resolve at the time."
Masamitsu's state of mind at this time could be fully understood from his previous stories.
"And for that purpose, he apparently asked Oshima, whom he had always heard had connections with the Aoi-ikka, the most well-known organized crime group in the country, to send a hitman. He thought that local yakuza wouldn't have anyone useful for an assassination, and since it would be harder to trace, it would be better to ask an outside organization. Furthermore, he decided to use Kitagawa and Shinoda, who were becoming unable to keep their heads above water due to debts within the company, as collaborators to assist the hitman, who had no knowledge of the local area."
"Wait a minute! Regarding when he requested the hitman arrangement from Oshima, do you know how he did that? Certainly, there's no doubt Oshima had a 'weakness' toward your old man, but when it comes to involvement in a murder, there's a considerable hurdle, right? Your old man himself had a reciprocal weakness in that he was working with Oshima to illegally tap into the administration for profit, so from Oshima's perspective, there would have been a certain deterrent."
Nishida voiced a question based on the suspicion Takeshita had held. That suspicion was: "Was it possible that Oshima, rather than Isaka Daikichi, had a clearer reason to be involved in the murder of Sada Minoru?" Takeshita had perceived at the time that for Oshima to take the risk of murder, the balance was somewhat off, even considering the sink-or-swim relationship between Isaka and Oshima.
Specifically, after the contents of the tape left by Kitamura were revealed, and only at that point, Takeshita argued that even if he learned that Kuwano Kinya was the later Oshima, those conditions were the same as the reasons Isaka had already used to make Oshima provide benefits before Sada's blackmail. He emphasized that it was strange for Oshima to go as far as participating in a murder for that alone. At the same time, even if he wanted to hide that his true identity was Kuwano Kinya, since it was information that could be found by tracing the family register, he questioned whether Oshima was being excessively fixated on hiding it for it to be a motive for murder.
Of course, in the recent investigation, since it was revealed that Oshima was actually his cousin Onodera Michitoshi, that wouldn't be known from the family register, so it could be hidden as long as the people who knew didn't talk, which might have made it meaningful. However, in any case, he emphasized the point that these were conditions already being used to extort benefits from Oshima before Sada began his blackmail.
On top of that, Takeshita had strongly argued to Nishida at the time that Motohashi's use of the word "instructor" for Isaka during the interrogation seven years ago—a term not commonly used—felt like he was tricking the police into thinking it was the same as "client," which led to this line of thinking.
In other words, the client who sought Sada's murder was not just Isaka, who met Motohashi directly in Kitami and gave specific instructions for the murder, but also Oshima himself, who acted as a go-between to dispatch Motohashi to Kitami, or perhaps Oshima himself sought it even more than Isaka. And when Masamitsu spoke the "intro" of receiving a phone call from his father Daikichi in September '92 earlier, the content also made Nishida himself doubt whether Daikichi had been the leader in the murder of Sada Minoru, which led to this question.
"Please let me speak on the premise that this is just my impression and speculation, as my old man didn't speak clearly about those details."
After that preamble, Masamitsu took a breath and began to speak.
"It seems my old man might have made Oshima think that Sada Minoru, like my old man, knew that Oshima's 'true identity' was not Kuwano but a person named Onodera, and that he also knew about the theft of the other people's gold dust... In other words, he might have made him believe that Sada Minoru's existence was very dangerous for Oshima himself."
Hearing that, Nishida immediately said:
"I don't think Sada Minoru could have linked Oshima even to Kuwano, who was the person he was formally supposed to be, at that time. We (the police) were able to link Kuwano and Oshima for the time being by investigating Oshima's family register based on the fact that your old man had made a statement that the person Oshima was on the family register was Kuwano. But as for Sada Minoru, I really don't think he knew that information back in 1987... If that's the case, he would have needed to investigate the family register using only the information of Kuwano's name that appeared in the written pledges and letters, and conversely link it to Oshima. For that, Sada Minoru would have needed to know in advance where Kuwano's permanent domicile was, which would have been difficult. For Sada Minoru, it should be seen that it was almost impossible to link Oshima even to Kuwano, let alone Onodera. In that case, can we assume that what your old man said was a complete lie to make Oshima actively participate in the murder of Sada Minoru?"
He asked for confirmation.
"My old man didn't say that clearly, but that's just how I took it. If you say so, then it's probably true. I can't say more than that."
Masamitsu was consistent in stating that the basis for his statement had not been specifically shown by his father. However, even if that wasn't clear, Nishida thought it made more sense than Oshima simply dispatching Motohashi to Kitami because he was pestered by Isaka Daikichi.
And, regardless of the degree of involvement, the Oshima-led theory that Takeshita had proposed should also connect to the fact that Motohashi met directly with Oshima's chief secretary, Nakagawa, without meeting Isaka at all just before leaving Kitami after the incident.
But if that were the case, Oshima was danced around by false information and committed murder, and ultimately, he would have caused the incidents of killing Matsushima and Kitamura at Kitami Kyoritsu Hospital. As a result, he would have made an incredibly large mistake. If he had thought carefully that Sada Minoru couldn't possibly know that much, it might have been a tragedy that could have been avoided.
"I've come to understand quite a bit up to that point, thanks to your testimony."
Nishida set about resetting the mood to change his sinking feelings.
"Now then, finally, after Sada Minoru came to Kitami and met with your old man and the Prefectural Assemblyman Matsushima, he had the aforementioned Motohashi, who had come to Kitami, carry out the murder... At that time, we know that Shinoda and Kitagawa were also made to cooperate in the execution of the murder. I have a few questions there. It's uncertain whether you've heard this from your old man, but if you know, please tell me."
Although Nishida said that, he couldn't deny feeling that he was continuing the hearing in a state of fumbling, not knowing how much Daikichi had revealed to Masamitsu, even if he was his son. However, it was also true that things had gone more smoothly than expected up to this point. At the same time, he was unable to feel confident that things would continue to go well as they had so far.
However, since Masamitsu had taken over the relationship with Kitagawa and Shinoda from Daikichi after that, there was a hope on the other hand that he might know something about that point. In other words, he was conducting the interrogation while constantly wavering between hope and anxiety.
"First, regarding the written pledge that Sada brought with him in exchange for the provision of funds—the same one your old man had... We believe it was actually a fake pledge, but he should have received it at the time. However, the pledge you had was the real one, probably your old man's pledge, and there was nothing else... Have you heard anything from your old man about the pledge he received or the story of the contract with Sada?"
"To be honest, I haven't heard anything specific about that... It's a faint memory, but I heard from my old man that he was deceived by Sada or something like that. Could that be related to it being a fake?"
While avoiding a clear statement, he gave testimony with the nuance that Isaka Daikichi might have later noticed the pledge was a fake.
However, in reality, there should have been a possibility for Isaka to see through the fake pledge. First, it was revealed this time that Isaka himself had his own genuine pledge. If he had compared them carefully, he might have seen through it.
And, if he had been shown the pledge for Hojo Masato's share—which Kitagawa and Shinoda had taken from Sada Minoru's body and kept in a safe deposit box—along with their blackmail, there might have been a chance, however small, to see through it as being strange from its existence as well.
Of course, in terms of possibility, the best way to judge it as a fake would be to compare it with his own, but in any case, since there was an opportunity, combined with Masamitsu's testimony, it wouldn't be strange if he had seen through the forgery and disposed of it. For now, although a definitive conclusion was impossible for Nishida and Yoshimura, they could surmise at a reasonably convincing level that the fake pledge had been disposed of.
"On our end, we think there's a possibility he saw through it, but I understand your perception. Next, I want to ask about the point where Sada Minoru, who was scheduled to return to Sapporo in the morning on the day after the dinner, was suddenly taken to Ikutahara and murdered and abandoned there by Motohashi. From the testimony obtained from Motohashi's interrogation seven years ago, it seems your old man deceived Sada and took him there as if the gold dust still existed, but have you heard anything about that?"
"No, I don't know at all. I haven't heard."
Masamitsu denied it briefly.
"I see... If so, that can't be helped..."
Nishida, believing there was no lie in that statement from Masamitsu—who was in Tokyo at the time and was seen as not being involved in the crime at all since he had no vested interest—proceeded with the conversation. This time, it was about the main thread of the story he had recalled in connection with the fake pledge earlier.
"The story now moves to after the murder of Sada Minoru. We believe that Kitagawa and Shinoda, who cooperated, then blackmailed your old man. The two of them learned that (Daikichi) had killed Takamura during the war from the copy of the letter Sada Toru wrote long ago, which Sada Minoru must have had until just before he was killed. Using that as a reason, they blackmailed your old man, not only to resolve their debt problems but also to raise their own treatment within the company. Isn't that right?"
To that question, without a moment's delay,
"It's exactly as you speculate! The two of them asked my old man not only for the debt cancellation they had been promised in advance but also for promotions. However, since they were also cooperating in a murder, they didn't press my old man more than necessary. They had dirtied their own hands to some extent, so it's natural they couldn't come on too strong, right? For that reason, my old man didn't have a sense of being strongly blackmailed; he felt more like he was giving them preferential treatment because he had no choice. And I also took over the relationship with the two on that premise. That's how it was. This is just my speculation, but Shinoda and Kitagawa might have been using it more as a deterrent to prevent my old man from eliminating them. After I took over the company, I was once told, 'We're hiding something that proves your old man did various things in the past, so don't get any funny ideas.'"
He replied.
"You mean they used it for prevention, considering the possibility of being killed in retaliation like Sada?"
When further pursued by Nishida,
"Probably... Well, I don't think my old man intended to go that far, though."
He said.
The fact that Sada's bag and its contents, the pledges and letters, were kept in Kitagawa's bank safe deposit box served as a trump card for demanding promotions, and it's true that it would be consistent even if it had such an "insurance"-like meaning.
"Did you know that Kitagawa was keeping those letters and such in a safe deposit box?"
"I hadn't heard if it was a safe deposit box, but as I said earlier, when they threatened me, I knew they were hidden somewhere."
"Regarding that point, did you ask Kitagawa's bereaved family after his death?"
"Yeah, I should have asked."
"But you didn't seem to pursue it much and just left it as it was?"
"Because I didn't think that wife would come at me with new threats. I must have just left it alone because it was a hassle."
"When he was blackmailed, did your old man tell Oshima about it?"
"...I haven't heard anything in particular about that, but if he was being blackmailed after they had secured the evidence, there wouldn't have been anything Oshima could do about it anyway. And after I took over, Oshima never said anything to me about it. In the first place, if he saw that their main intention was to stop us from making a move, my old man might have avoided making a big deal out of it."
Because he answered Nishida's questions one after another immediately and the logic held up reasonably well, Nishida was convinced this part of the story was true.
"By the way, I'd like to go back a bit and ask a few things. First, I want to ask about Motohashi. Didn't the Isaka Group provide something like a success fee? In the investigation seven years ago, no such trace was found. And if that's the case, does it mean Oshima paid the reward to Motohashi?"
Yoshimura asked instead.
"I haven't heard the details, but both during my old man's time and after it became mine, we were making considerable donations to Oshima, so I don't think my old man provided it separately in that form. I haven't heard anything about it either. For that matter, as we discussed earlier, if a murderous intent itself had been boiling up in Oshima, I wouldn't think it strange if Oshima handled everything. The relationship with the hitman they called in—Motohashi?—was stronger with Oshima, who called him, than with my old man."
He answered.
If this story was true, it meant that Oshima was indeed led by Isaka's falsehoods and, moreover, had Motohashi kill Sada out of his own strong murderous intent. Of course, Isaka was involved, but it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Isaka's murderous intent was absorbed into Oshima's. He was successfully utilized. Furthermore, Yoshimura moved on to the next question.
"We can surmise that Oshima also had a strong murderous intent and called in Motohashi as a hitman, but is it correct to say that your old man led the actual murder plan? And, including the fact that Motohashi—who is seen as having been requested by Oshima from the Aoi-ikka side—came to Kitami and met up with your old man, I assume Oshima and your old man had a proper meeting in advance. What do you say?"
"I'm not sure about this, and I haven't heard, but at the very least, if my old man was using his own company's subordinates and giving direct instructions to Motohashi, then it wouldn't be strange if my old man was at the center of it after a thorough meeting with the Oshima side."
"In that case, regarding whether Oshima knew the specific details of the murder plan, can we assume he knew that Kitagawa and Shinoda would help Motohashi kill Sada Minoru? At the same time, conversely, did Kitagawa and Shinoda know that Oshima was directly involved in the murder?"
"Regarding the first part, whether Oshima knew, it's not clear when he found out, but Oshima himself must have been informed by my old man. After my old man's death, because of the circumstances up to then, I had to talk to Oshima about various things, and he knew the situation to some extent, so there's no mistake. He probably heard the plan from my old man before the murder and knew about it, didn't he? As for whether Kitagawa and the others knew, they knew that Oshima had put pressure on the police regarding the murder, but I think they almost certainly didn't know he was directly involved in the killing. I haven't heard anything from those guys, and if they had known, they might have tried to extort something from Oshima just like they did with my old man, but there was none of that at all."
On this point, even if Masamitsu didn't know the details for the most part, so it couldn't be helped, it seems certain that Oshima knew the specific details of the murder method at the very least after the fact. He probably heard it in advance. At the very least, leaving it entirely to Isaka would be almost impossible if Oshima also recognized a specific interest in the murder (even if that was through Daikichi's deception).
"Then, this is the last in this series of questions. After the murder, this time it became a police matter regarding the disappearance from Sada's family, and your old man ended up being suspected by the police. Was this anticipated? And there's no doubt Oshima put pressure on the police at that time. No money was involved in that either, right?"
"I don't know if he anticipated it, but I can't believe he wasn't prepared for it at all. In any case, if my old man were marked by the police and arrested, it would inevitably result in a disadvantage for Oshima as well, so wouldn't there have been no need to even ask with money each time?"
Yoshimura also seemed satisfied, partly because Masamitsu answered the questions without pause. On the other hand, Nishida also nodded deeply after hearing Masamitsu's series of answers.
"Certainly, your old man and Oshima had been in a sink-or-swim relationship through blackmail and vested interests since before then, but that relationship deepened further because of the incident, whether they wanted it to or not."
He spoke to him.
"I think that's probably what it was. I bet my old man and Oshima were bound hand and foot, sharing interests while inwardly hating each other. And I also, while knowing how stupid it was, inherited not only the company but also that relationship in order to maintain the company. It's probably nothing more and nothing less than that."
When he said that definitively to the two detectives in front of him, it seemed to Nishida that he caught a momentary glimpse of Masamitsu as he was in his youth, troubled by the circumstances he was placed in.