Chapter 121 - Name and Reality 44 {72 Solo} (164–165 Masamitsu's Testimony on Kitagawa's 1995 Actions and the Hospital Shooting 2)
"Were you told about the detailed plan for the Matsushima murder in advance?"
When Nishida confirmed,
"I didn't intend to cooperate directly. I heard there was a plan to get rid of Matsushima, who might spill the beans to the police about the Sada incident, and I basically just told Sakamoto and Itagaki to follow Nakagawa's instructions. However, when the execution was specifically decided, I was also contacted, and I had heard the story from the two. So, I'm not completely unrelated, but as for the reality, wouldn't it be okay to say I just heard it from Nakagawa?"
He answered. This point indeed almost matched Itagaki's testimony.
"Did you hear anything about the perpetrators?"
Next, he was asked by Yoshimura,
"No, other than that they asked yakuza from Honshu, I don't know, and of course, I didn't have any personal acquaintance."
He generally denied it.
"I'll ask just in case, but even in the Matsushima murder case, there were no specific statements from Nakagawa about Oshima's involvement, right?"
"Of course, there weren't any to me. However, as I said earlier, it's hard to imagine that Oshima isn't involved in such a major thing at all."
Nishida tried asking just in case, but it seems to stop at speculation. It appears Nakagawa indeed didn't specifically mention Oshima's involvement. He could truly be called a paragon of a secretary.
"By the way, Hamana, the Union Leader of Kyoritsu Hospital..."
Just as Nishida was about to say his questions in succession, Masamitsu said,
"That person was pitiful too... Nakagawa told me after Hamana's suicide that that person didn't know about the talk of killing Matsushima... He apparently only intended to play the role of scouting the situation of Matsushima, who was hospitalized, as instructed by Nakagawa. Well, if he found out that what he did was involved in a murder, it wouldn't be strange for a small-hearted person to end up like that."
He confessed the facts ahead of time.
"I see, so he didn't know the details after all... He probably couldn't bear the pangs of conscience."
Nishida thought that although it was somewhat as expected, it must have been fatal that he couldn't refuse the request from the Oshima side, who had helped him during the hospital's crisis before.
"Even though he was the son of a large hospital, it seems he couldn't become a doctor, but his good nature turned out to be his undoing."
When he spoke those words, Masamitsu looked like he was overlapping his own position with Hamana's. They were certainly two people in similar circumstances, but while Hamana was terrified by the great sin he had unconsciously been involved in, Masamitsu had the difference of not hesitating to stain himself with evil by fundamentally pushing away his own conscience, even if he rejected it partially. However, since the current Masamitsu is also about to be exposed to "judgment," does it mean that God also did his part...
"And after the murder was executed, you must have had the perpetrators use the unused Rubeshibe facility of the Isaka Group as a hideout, but regarding that point, it's already known from the testimony of subordinates that they received your instructions. You won't deny this, right? If so, the problem is when you decided on that use."
When questioned by Yoshimura,
"Regarding that, I should have been asked directly by Nakagawa after the incident occurred. I don't have a memory of the exact details, but I think that's mostly fine."
He replied.
If Masamitsu's story is true, this point wasn't in the prior plan. He might have thought it was quite a problem to keep the perpetrators hiding on the 4th floor of Oshima's office forever. Since he had had them stay for nearly three weeks by then, if he had extended the hiding, there certainly should have been a possibility of being quite suspected by the people in the office.
"In October of '95, regarding the matter of Motohashi's confession to the murder of Sada Minoru, you should have been questioned by the police (us) voluntarily about your old man. At that time, you had no intention of mentioning Oshima's involvement at all, right? According to what I heard from the (interrogation) officer in charge at the time, I heard you didn't say anything in particular."
Yoshimura signaled Nishida with his eyes and then inserted the question,
"It was a fact that my old man was involved, and even if I had mentioned Oshima's name there, it wouldn't have been good for the company... If the company could stand without Oshima, it might have been better in a sense than having only my old man take the blame..."
He answered.
It was a question based on the report to Nishida and the others from the then Kitami Regional HQ Section 1 Head Kurano, but certainly, considering the decrease in public works that began from that time, it could be said it was a natural choice. Nishida had also sensed that delicate situation to some extent at the time. And it could be said it was ironic that the conclusion was that management would reach a deadlock as a result, even with that choice.
"Now then... Ultimately, the two, Sakamoto and Itagaki, became employees of the Isaka Group and were promoted, but was that something you had promised the two in advance?"
Nishida secured the right to question again and asked.
"Of course! It's the same as with Kitagawa and Shinoda. As expected, if I don't guarantee that, the other party won't move."
"However, it seems you didn't do something like making them executives, as expected."
Behind this statement of Nishida's was the thought that if Masamitsu gave them blatant promotions, it would leave room for suspicion, just like in the cases of Kitagawa and Shinoda, so he had "restrained himself."
"It was completely found out... Yes. That's exactly why I made only the salary aspect a reward above their positions."
"I knew it!"
Nishida grinned, partly because his own reasoning had hit the mark. However, more than that, it was because he felt a response in Masamitsu's deposition today itself.
"Even so, you talked a lot today. Honestly, it helped... I think you'll end up being asked the same kind of things again to properly make it into a deposition, but I want you to keep answering with patience from now on."
"For my part, honestly, I didn't want to say it either... It's just a story of being starved out and having no choice but to give up. However, it's the first time since I took over the company that I've made up my mind this much..."
Masamitsu's face when he answered Nishida's words looked strangely relieved instead. Did it mean that the burden he had been carrying had disappeared, for better or worse? Thinking so, just before finishing the interrogation and trying to return Masamitsu to the detention cell, he suddenly remembered something important.
"Oh right, I was careless! Even in the case of Sada Minoru's murder, I'm looking at the possibility that Nakagawa might be involved in something, but haven't you heard anything about that?"
He tried questioning as if to patch things up in a hurry. It was because Nakagawa should have already been Oshima's local chief secretary since back in '87. In addition to that, there is the matter that Journalist Naruo testified about the other day and physical evidence also came out, that Nakagawa and Motohashi had met at Kitami Station. Instead of Oshima, who is almost always in Tokyo, it wouldn't be strange if he was involved in some incident in Kitami since back then. During the '95 investigation, we initially saw that the crimes of Motohashi and the others in Kitami in '87 were all managed by Isaka or his associates, but if we take the investigation so far into account and include Naruo's evidence, it could be said it was natural in a sense that Nakagawa was also involved.
"I haven't directly heard anything. However..."
"However?"
"'You might also have a hard time in various ways after taking over the company, but I also have a disagreeable role that follows me around, since a long time ago in this kind of work,' I think he complained to me when I was contacted that the execution of Matsushima's murder had been decided. If that's the case, doesn't it depend on how you take the meaning of 'disagreeable role'? At that time, I didn't particularly have any thoughts, but thinking about it now, it wouldn't be strange to take it that way."
After Masamitsu said that, he showed a gesture as if gauging Nishida's reaction. From this situation, Nishida felt that he probably truly didn't know anything specific.
"While I'm at it, can I ask a few more things?"
Furthermore, Nishida enumerated words as if being hurried by someone so as not to forget what he should say.
"I don't mind."
It was a brusqueness like "again?", but he decided to take the social lip service at face value.
"We know the whereabouts of Hojo Masato's younger brother, Masaharu. It's Itabashi in Tokyo, where you also were. ...Even so, it was seven years ago, so I don't know if he's still there or if he's healthy given his age... If you'd like, could you return the gold dust you're keeping to that younger brother? Of course, we have to reconfirm his whereabouts and all."
When asked so,
"Is it true? I see... you had tracked down his whereabouts. As expected of the police, I guess... That's good. However, please wait until I've settled down a bit. I'll have to ask my family too."
He replied emotionally. Did a place for the entrusted item to go appear and the burden on his shoulders lighten somewhat...
"Regarding that matter, there's also the involvement with the evidence, so it won't happen immediately, but I intend to have the procedures done. I think Masaharu will be happy too."
Although Nishida tried saying that, he himself didn't know well when that would be.
"Then that's OK for that matter. And for the second thing... You were probably being blackmailed by the person with the dummy account, but do you intend to sue the other party? Of course, we can enter the investigation without a formal complaint."
Nishida's inquiry was about the presence or absence of the intention to file a complaint against the blackmailer of the Isaka family, which, unlike the prior assumption, probably wouldn't be subject to the statute of limitations. Of course, the crime of extortion is not a crime prosecutable only upon complaint, but in reality, it was also true that the "strength or weakness of the victim's consciousness" of the extorted side was questioned. It was easier to do for the investigation if a complaint was filed.
"To be honest, I'm in a state of mind where I don't care anymore... The money taken was a fair amount, but it's not like we were in the right either. My old man's life might have been shortened, but if you say he got what he deserved, that's the end of the story. I suppose I don't have the right to say anything about the other party's crime either? You can do as you like. My honest feeling is that I've stopped caring. I'm at the point where I have my hands full with my own matters."
There might be a part where he became desperate due to the crisis of the survival of the company he dared to inherit, but more than that, he might have been considerably exhausted deep down by the numerous large "injustices" he had directly faced for these ten years.
"Well, there's no need to decide that now. If you change your mind, let me know. We'll throw our full effort into the murder investigation for now, but once that's settled, we'll make the person who was blackmailing you and your old man take responsibility for the murder Shinoda committed."
Nishida's statement was, of course, because he and Yoshimura had a strong desire to somehow take revenge on behalf of Yoneda's mother. Of course, if Shinoda hadn't died, they could have caught the direct murderer...
"I see. Well, don't expect anything from me. I probably won't even feel like getting angry that I was deceived at this late stage... Regardless of me, you can investigate as you like. I have things I have to care about more."
Did he mention the future of the company and his family again? Masamitsu spoke while looking straight at Nishida this time only.
"Then we'll take the liberty of doing that on our own for that matter. And then, I think you probably haven't heard, but the bombing of a yakuza group office that happened in Tokyo the other day—have you heard anything about that from Nakagawa or someone?"
Nishida confirmed this without expecting anything from the start, but,
"Huh? I know about the incident itself, but I don't know any information at all about someone doing something regarding that."
Masamitsu denied it immediately. Since he thought that it wasn't just that Masamitsu hadn't heard, but that the Oshima side actually wasn't involved either, he backed down easily.
*
Nishida and Yoshimura, who left the interrogation room of the Kitami Station, headed for the adjacent Kitami Regional HQ building. The fact that Isaka Masamitsu had almost completely broken was important, but the content of the confession itself also had great meaning. Not only was most of what they had been steadily investigating since '95 corroborated, but several things they hadn't known until then and new information were conveyed to Nishida and the others through Masamitsu's mouth.
However, basically, the testimony related to the Sada Minoru murder case was told by Isaka Daikichi through Masamitsu, and since Daikichi is dead, it lacks evidence capacity in court as so-called "hearsay evidence." Besides that, there were many things that required the testimony of Nakagawa or Oshima Kaiji, and although it was useful for understanding the line of the crime, in terms of proof, the wall remained high as ever, or there were many things that required ingenuity.
"The overall picture has become quite visible, but it's missing one more punch. We really have to break Nakagawa."
In response to Nishida, who said that,
"Let's just be glad that progress was made, just for now..."
Just like that, Yoshimura seemed to be in a mood where he didn't want to think about the problems now.
"If we can make up our minds, Oshima's arrest isn't impossible with just Isaka's testimony, but when the opponent is a Member of Parliament and a big shot of the ruling party... Although his influence has declined more than before under the Takamatsu Administration..."
Nishida clicked his tongue after saying that.
"Is voluntary questioning as a witness still impossible, I wonder?"
"Oshima complying voluntarily? That's impossible no matter how you look at it."
Nishida replied as if exasperated by Yoshimura's words, but Yoshimura,
"That's true, but it's also hard to assert that it's not there depending on the situation..."
He trailed off. Perhaps feeling a bit sorry for Yoshimura, Nishida,
"Well, I won't say it's absolutely not there,"
He glossed it over.
"...That aside, the person who was blackmailing Isaka seems to have been extorting money from Masamitsu until just a few years ago. Thanks to that, the extortion case seems likely to escape the statute of limitations, which actually helped us."
Immediately after, Yoshimura suddenly changed the subject, but as he said, the prospect of being able to build a case against the "blackmailer" who created the trigger for young Yoneda to be killed had certainly appeared after Isaka Masamitsu's testimony. Precisely because they couldn't catch the deceased Shinoda as the murderer, it was important to make the blackmailer take responsibility, although it was only indirect in terms of causality. For the sake of Yoneda's mother, who lost her only son...
"Umu. However, regarding that matter, it's enough even after we can somehow catch Oshima, or rather, if we think about what's most important, we have no choice but to put it on the back burner for now."
Nishida emphasized the "later processing" again, as he had told Masamitsu, but,
"That's also true... After all, unless we catch the murderer, it'll be putting the cart before the horse."
Yoshimura showed his agreement.
"That's how it is. It won't be too late even after we can investigate with our feet firmly on the ground. If you say the other party will run away in the next few months, you could also say they've already run away."
"Understood. For now, let's just do what we should do in front of us properly!"
His partner lightly tapped his chest with his fist.
"Besides, Masamitsu's confession is mostly hearsay evidence from the dead Daikichi. It's a reference for the investigation, but when it comes to evidence capacity in court, there are many tough parts. Since there are no stories directly involving Oshima in other matters either, there will be many cases where Nakagawa's testimony is needed to catch Oshima."
Nishida said so as if confirming, and his expression became a bit grim, but it's still no mistake that they achieved great results in the broad framework. The steps toward the investigation headquarters were relatively pleasant ones.