Chapter 126 - Name and Reality 49 {77 Alone} (175–178 Takeshita's Sudden Appearance)
"However, something unexpected happened, actually."
"Unexpected... What do you mean by unexpected?"
"The reporter who asked the planted question came back and asked another one after some time had passed. It caught me a bit off guard."
Hearing this, Nishida recalled the events during the press conference. While Yasumura hadn't reacted to the Higashi Nippon Shinbun reporter's first question—unlike Koyabu sitting next to him—he had certainly appeared startled during the second question.
"So, you waited a while after receiving the question before answering?"
"Oh, you caught that? As expected, a field detective's eyes are sharp."
Yasumura gave a somewhat exaggerated reaction, but it didn't seem like mere flattery. However, Nishida cut him off, seeking what lay ahead.
"Never mind the pleasantries! If I recall, the second question was about the Sada murder?"
"To put it simply, I hadn't requested that second question be asked beforehand. It made me a bit flustered..."
At this moment, perhaps reflecting on that scene, Yasumura spoke with a quite troubled tone.
"In all honesty, connecting Isaka Masamitsu to the Sada Minoru murder... I think that would be impossible for anyone not deeply familiar with the investigative information at the time, even more so than the connection between the hospital shooting and Isaka Masamitsu. Even Yoshimura and I were surprised when we heard it. But unlike the previous matter, this one was unrelated to the Headquarters Chief...? If so, that's a rather mysterious development..."
Nishida could only tilt his head in confusion, and Yasumura appeared to be in the same state.
"To be honest, it's unsettling. Including the way they suddenly demanded to ask a question."
To Nishida's continued remark, Yasumura replied with a tone of resignation.
"Well, since things have reached a point where it doesn't matter if it's found out, I gave that kind of answer, and I don't think there's much need to worry about it."
He spoke as if he had made peace with it, but for Nishida, the lack of a clear explanation remained eerie and unsatisfying.
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"How did it go?"
When he returned to the Investigation Headquarters, Yoshimura, who was waiting near the door, asked about the situation in a low voice.
"It seems that, after taking the higher-ups' intentions into account, the Regional Headquarters Chief intentionally layered his own intent on top of it."
Nishida whispered back quietly.
"I thought as much."
Yoshimura wore an 'it figures' expression, but when Nishida added more, his face changed.
"On top of that, it seems the question regarding Isaka's involvement was planted by Regional Headquarters Chief Yasumura."
At this, Yoshimura's eyebrows shot up into an inverted 'V' shape, unable to hide his confusion.
"Uh... I don't quite understand?"
"In short, the Regional Headquarters Chief asked the Tojitsu reporter in advance to ask that kind of question."
As soon as he heard that, Yoshimura seemed to want to say, "Ah, I see!" but instead just opened his mouth without making a sound, nodded twice with exaggeration, and then spoke in a relatively loud voice.
"I didn't think that man would go that far!"
He then fell silent again for a while.
Nishida and Yoshimura remained silent until they reached their seats, but once seated, Nishida presented Yoshimura with a new fact.
"However, it seems the Headquarters Chief knows absolutely nothing about the question regarding Isaka Masamitsu and the Sada Minoru case."
This time, Yoshimura didn't even let it show on his face, but pressed his superior for details with an aggressive stance.
"Eh? Now I understand even less?"
"It's exactly as I just said. Because of that situation, both the Regional Headquarters Chief and I are at a loss. There's no way to explain it."
Nishida understood Yoshimura's feelings well, but it couldn't be helped since he himself wanted to know the reason. However, the cause of that abrupt second question would become clear almost without delay.
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After confirming that Nakagawa had been discharged from the hospital, returned to the detention cell, and that surveillance had been tightened, Nishida and Yoshimura were thinking of heading home for the day. Suddenly, Nishida's cell phone rang. Checking the screen, the caller was Takeshita.
"Hello? Takeshita?"
"Ah, was it okay to call now? I thought you might be quite busy, so I was going to just leave a message..."
"I'm busy, yes, but we haven't reached the point of staying overnight yet. I'm planning to head home now; I don't have night duty today."
As he said this, he checked the time; it was past 9:00 PM.
"I see... In that case, could we possibly meet today?"
"Today!? You're in Monbetsu right now, aren't you?"
When Nishida let out an overtly bewildered voice at Takeshita's unexpected proposal, Takeshita spoke up.
"The thing is, I'm in Kitami right now. Here to help with coverage."
"Help?"
"Yeah. There was a press conference in Kitami today, right? Because of that, thinking there had been a move in the investigation, I received a request for backup from the City News Department of the Sapporo Doho. Partly because I'm a former detective, and partly because Monbetsu is close. However, after I arrived, I heard the conference was about a suspect's attempted suicide, so I was a bit let down."
Having heard this much, Nishida had roughly guessed the reason for the inexplicable second question from the Higashi Nippon Shinbun, but he intentionally remained silent and continued the conversation.
"I see. You entered Kitami as backup. Understood. I don't mind meeting, but somewhere not too conspicuous would be best."
Since Nishida had things he wanted to ask himself, he conveyed this in a hushed voice even before confirming why Takeshita wanted to meet.
"I understand that, of course, but what should we do..."
Takeshita seemed to be worrying. He knew Kitami to some extent, but when it came to a "not conspicuous" setting, while such places seemed to be everywhere, he couldn't pinpoint a specific location.
"My place is..."
Just as Nishida started to speak, he received appropriate advice from his former subordinate.
"The place you're living now is a police apartment, isn't it? I think you should avoid that."
Certainly, while it would be fine as long as they weren't caught, in the worst-case scenario, if it were discovered that he was meeting with someone from the press behind the scenes, it wouldn't leave a good impression within the police. It wasn't that he couldn't just brazen it out with a "so what?", but if it could be avoided, it should be.
At that moment, Yoshimura, who was beside him and understood that the person on the phone was Takeshita, made a very grateful suggestion.
"My place shouldn't be a problem, right? I think it'll be fine."
Indeed, since Yoshimura lived in a general rental apartment, it was unlikely to be leaked to the outside that a detective and a member of the media were meeting. Nishida signaled his gratitude to Yoshimura with a hand gesture and spoke into the phone.
"How about Yoshimura's place?"
Takeshita accepted.
"Ah, if Yoshimura is okay with that, I don't mind."
"Alright, then at Yoshimura's... Er, what's the address?"
"I've never been there directly, but the address is in my phone."
"Ah, then it's fine. It shouldn't be a problem if you head there by taxi."
"What time should I go?"
"Let's see. I think it's better if we get there first and wait..."
Nishida said this and looked at Yoshimura, who seemed to have already called his wife at home and obtained her consent; the moment he felt Nishida's gaze, he made an OK sign with his fingers.
"Then, we're heading back in Yoshimura's car now, so try to arrive in about fifteen minutes."
After conveying that, the call ended with a "Understood. See you later."
※※※※※※※
While Nishida and Yoshimura were waiting at Yoshimura's home, the intercom rang. Yoshimura confirmed it was Takeshita, released the auto-lock at the entrance, and Takeshita came up to the room. It seemed he hadn't seen Yoshimura's wife, Yoko, since their wedding; after exchanging formal greetings, he gave a light nod toward Nishida and Yoshimura.
"Hello."
Takeshita had apparently prepared some snacks and cans of Nishida's favorite brand of beer himself; he placed them on the dining table and offered them to the two. A scene from seven years ago flashed through Nishida's mind—when he had suspected Takeshita of a leak regarding a critical article about Kitagawa in the Doho, a similar situation had unfolded in Nishida's apartment.
"You're staying here in Kitami tonight, right?" Nishida asked as he opened a can of beer without hesitation.
"That's the plan. I'm thinking of sleeping in the nap room of the Doho's Kitami branch and heading back early tomorrow morning. I could have gone back today, but there was something I wanted to talk about," Takeshita said as he took off his jacket and sat on a living room chair.
"Regarding the press conference, specifically, what did you think was happening with the investigation?"
"No, since they said it was important, I thought maybe they'd requested an arrest warrant for Oshima. After all, I was ordered to go all the way to Kitami as backup. However, just before I left Monbetsu, word came out that Nakagawa had apparently attempted suicide in the detention cell..."
"Well, certainly, if it's an attempted suicide and yet he's perfectly fine, it's one of those things, isn't it?"
Yoshimura loosened his shirt collar with a wry smile.
"But, to put it the other way, I thought it was a bit strange that they'd hold a press conference for that, and when I went to the venue with the person in charge of the Kitami branch, I was suddenly called out to."
"And that was the reporter from the Higashi Nippon Shinbun? The Section Chief Assistant shared his theory with me on the way home."
When Yoshimura interjected without a moment's delay, Takeshita rubbed his chin with his hand.
"Good grief, you've seen through that much...?"
"Even if I've seen through it, I haven't said much yet, have I? So tell us properly from the beginning."
Prompted by Nishida, who seemed satisfied despite his tone because his deduction appeared to be correct, Takeshita began to speak.
"Then I won't hold back. There's a mid-level reporter from the Higashi Nippon named Masaki, whom I knew from the press club during my time in Sapporo, and he was the one who called out to me. After we chatted for a while, he started saying, 'The contents of the questions for today's press conference were dictated from Tokyo, and I just can't stand it.'"
However, in the middle of that, Yoshimura put in a question.
"Is it normal to have pre-arranged meetings about the questions at a press conference?"
"Sometimes it's left to the individual reporter, sometimes there are meetings within the company, and sometimes questions are assigned across the entire press club. However, it's almost unheard of for the head office to bypass local branches and bureaus to directly and specifically dictate question content in advance."
After Takeshita answered that, he continued.
"So, when I heard the content from Masaki, it was 'Ask whether the arrest of Isaka Masamitsu, which is not directly related to the shooting, is connected to the shooting,' and I was honestly surprised."
"But isn't it true that the topic hasn't been completely absent?" Nishida raised a doubt.
"Certainly, I think it wouldn't be strange for the Doho or other reporters within the prefecture to have that perception, but since this was a specific instruction from Tokyo, I thought this was a bit off..." Takeshita replied.
"I see. That does feel out of place." Nishida nodded involuntarily.
"For that reason, between the exaggerated press conference and the questions Tojitsu had prepared, I figured there was some kind of intent behind it. Needless to say, not only our Kitami reporter but the reporters from other companies were all saying 'something's weird.' There isn't a reporter who wouldn't think something was up."
Takeshita said this and moistened his throat with beer.
"Did your suspicion turn into a conviction after the press conference actually started?"
"Just as Yoshimura said, no fault on the police side was visible, and Secretary Nakagawa didn't just survive, he seemed perfectly fine... As I thought, this conference felt strange for the usual police. And then, when they finally started to implicitly touch upon Nakagawa's boss, I was convinced: 'This is it.'"
Just as Takeshita said, Yasumura had gone out of his way to hint at the existence of other suspects and had exposed them while keeping the identity of the person connected to Nakagawa vague.
"However, the Criminal Investigation Director next to him looked like he had a lot to say, and I also wondered if the Regional Headquarters Chief was just doing whatever he pleased, so I wanted to see for myself. Right then, the reporter from the pro-administration Tozai Shinbun got involved in the Q&A. Moreover, at the stage where they exchanged content mindful of Oshima Kaiji, I came to the conviction that, 'I see, the police organization as a whole and the administration side have given their permission.'"
Takeshita's deduction up to this point hit the mark. The problem was what came next. Now, the validity of Nishida's deduction was being tested. Of course, from the previous exchange, he was convinced it was correct, and Takeshita seemed to acknowledge it as well.
"And then, finally, came the question prepared by the Higashi Nippon Shinbun. On our end, we see it as Takeshita having intervened in the subsequent question content. That's my prediction."
"That's right. Your prediction is correct, Nishida-san! I figured that the investigation had probably reached a rough conclusion regarding the hospital shooting, based on the Q&A up to that point. However, the most difficult part is whether or not Oshima's involvement in the Sada Minoru case can be firmly established. Since I was the one investigating it, I understand it as well as Nishida-san or Yoshimura... no, that's an exaggeration now, but I think I understand it reasonably well. I couldn't help but want to use that opportunity to check how the investigation was progressing there. And I had expectations that this Regional Headquarters Chief might suggest something."
Until now, even when meeting Nishida and Yoshimura, Takeshita had strived to maintain a certain distance as an outsider, but Nishida thought he understood that the case must have remained a lingering regret in his heart. He probably couldn't suppress those feelings.
"So, you had that Higashi Nippon reporter ask the question?"
"An excellent deduction."
To this answer, Yoshimura asked inexplicably.
"In that case, wouldn't it have been fine to use a colleague, or rather, a reporter from the same organization, the Doho, who was doing the Q&A?"
Takeshita's answer to that was simple.
"They are indeed a colleague, but they're a senior at the company, and we're practically strangers. In that case, it was easier to ask a reporter from another company in the same industry whom I had worked with in the Sapporo press club. That's why I handed a scribbled note to Tojitsu's reporter Masaki, who was sitting at the back of the venue near where I was standing, and asked him to ask it."
"Sho, that'sh why it became shuch a flustered queshtion?"
Yoshimura confirmed in a baby-like voice while sucking on a piece of beef jerky snack.
"That's how it was," Takeshita answered, stifling a laugh.
"And what did you think of Headquarters Chief Yasumura's crucial answer? When I checked with him earlier, it seems he was indeed surprised by that question. That's why he seemed to hesitate for a moment before responding."
Nishida confirmed with a serious face, ignoring the previous exchange.
"He seemed a bit lost, but from the nuance of 'I can't answer at present,' I thought the investigation itself was moving forward. I had also heard the results of the matter regarding Motohashi and Nakagawa from Igarashi-san to you the other day, and if I think of Nakagawa's suicide attempt as being the result of being cornered, it makes sense."
Takeshita also gave his analysis solemnly this time.
Here, Nishida remembered that Takeshita had been the intermediary in obtaining the fact that Nakagawa and Motohashi had met from Igarashi.
"Ah! Come to think of it, 'that' matter was a huge help in the investigation! I completely forgot to thank you. My apologies!" he said, clapping his hands together.
"No, no! I only told Igarashi-san to speak to you after I heard the story from him."
He tried to be humble, but while the confirmation of the fact that Nakagawa and Motohashi had met didn't prove a direct crime, there was no doubt it had great significance in building the narrative.
"But unfortunately, we haven't been able to prove things like Nakagawa's complicity in murder yet."
Yoshimura twisted one side of his face as if he had chewed on a bitter bug, and while it was useful for showing the overall picture of the case, it couldn't be denied that many things were lacking in terms of prosecution.
"To be honest, I find that regrettable myself. So, what I wanted to confirm with you today, Nishida-san... did Isaka Masamitsu break? I don't know if it's a full confession or a partial one, but having the Higashi Nippon Shinbun ask that kind of question makes me think you've moved at least a little on Isaka's case. I know I'm not in a position to ask this. I'm asking not as a reporter, but as a former subordinate and colleague, and as a former detective. To be honest, I just couldn't hold back anymore..."
Nishida felt Takeshita's sharpness and, at the same time, a fragility in that his "restraint" up to now had wavered; he even felt a little happy inside, thinking that Takeshita was human after all.