Chapter 15 - Straying 2 (11–20 Old Man Okuda's Testimony and Kitagawa's Alibi Claim)
Whether he didn't understand what happened in an instant, Kitagawa had a blank expression.
"These are the ones seized from your house during the search. Incidentally, they were submitted voluntarily, but the soles of these shoes match the new footprints left at that murder scene. That's why we're here."
At Nishida's statement, as if he finally understood the situation,
"It's just a coincidence, isn't it?" he retorted with a strengthened tone.
"Just as you say, if it's only this, it's not impossible that it's a coincidence. But you know, the soil components attached to the soles of these shoes match the soil at that site. Is this a coincidence?"
This time Takeshita applied pressure.
"Soil components, aren't there similar ones everywhere?"
Kitagawa still tried to act tough.
"No, police scientific investigation is done quite properly, and we can generally distinguish locations. It'll be a problem if you underestimate us."
"Then isn't it exactly a coincidence? I go to pick wild plants and such, so I might have happened to go to that site, and that might have remained. That is, if those were mine..."
For the detectives, if the opponent had brought up the place name "Ikutahara" himself here, it would have been a success, but like the murder statement trap earlier, he didn't easily fall for it. However, it's also true that he had become more talkative than at the start of the interrogation. The possibility of making a blunder is emerging. Now Nishida attacks.
"Picking wild plants, huh. I don't do it myself, but people who like it seem to really like it... I have a colleague who likes it, and on his days off, he seems to know places where they grow well, and he picks a mountain's worth and shares them with us. It's a grateful story. That aside, you were saying earlier that you just happened to go to the site. Where have you gone to pick wild plants recently?"
"Do I have to answer every single thing? I don't remember!"
It's clear that he's started speaking faster from being asked persistently.
"No, it's a recent story, right? And I think people who go to pick wild plants have a place they know well to some extent?"
Nishida presses further. Kitagawa made an obviously unpleasant face, but replied as if sulking,
"It's toward Bihoro Pass, that's where I often go to pick them."
"Toward Bihoro Pass, huh. The view of Lake Kussharo is good there. What do you pick?"
"At this time of year, maybe gyoja-ninniku (Siberian onion) or takenoko (Author's note: What are called takenoko in Hokkaido are what are known as sasa-take in Honshu. So-called bamboo forests do not exist in Hokkaido except for a part of southern Hokkaido. Even those were transplanted from Honshu)..."
Kitagawa's face, which was reluctantly answering Nishida's questions that seemed like they would go on forever, had begun to flush slightly before they knew it.
"Takenoko, huh. That's good. But things picked in the mountains aren't just wild plants; sometimes there are even more expensive things."
Saying so, Nishida again took out the camera from behind the chair and placed it in front of him to show. As expected, even Kitagawa's eyes widened at this, and he unintentionally let out a sound,
"Ugh."
"You know this, right? The camera. The one you gave to your subordinate at the company. Regarding that point, we've already investigated, so it's useless to deny it."
Nishida's gaze directed at Kitagawa might have emitted a slightly malicious light.
"This looks like a quite expensive camera, where did you buy it?"
After treating it as "something picked in the mountains" just now, asking "where did you buy it" was as blatant as could be, but it couldn't be helped given the flow of the talk.
"No, it's not something I bought..."
He seemed to answer Nishida's sharp question with great effort.
"It's not something you bought?" This time Takeshita asks.
"...It's something I got from someone I don't know well..."
"Why would someone you don't know well give you such an expensive thing? That's quite a singular person. So, where did you get it?"
Kitagawa could not utter a word. Ignoring that, Takeshita continues.
"This camera, you know, is the camera of the person named Yoshimi I mentioned earlier. After he died, the camera went missing, but when we raided the Isaka Group for the drunk driving case, we received it from your subordinate. When we investigated, not only did the model number match, but Yoshimi-san's fingerprints were also detected from the camera."
Suddenly interrupting Takeshita's statement,
"That shouldn't be possible!" Kitagawa raised his voice.
"Why is it impossible?"
Attacked by Takeshita as if pouncing on the chance, he seemed to finally realize his statement was bad. Nishida and Takeshita also observed that state closely.
Probably, Kitagawa wiped the camera carefully before giving it to Hirao. So that even his own fingerprints wouldn't be attached... However, neither Kitagawa nor Hirao had wiped the attachment part of the lens to the camera body. That resulted in a small amount of Yoshimi's fingerprints remaining. However, since Kitagawa didn't notice that, he had the awareness that there was no way Yoshimi's fingerprints would be detected, and this led to this strong denial. He fell silent at Takeshita's question. Takeshita continues the talk without concern.
"Anyway, for that reason, it's clear that this camera is the late Yoshimi-san's. However, strangely, the film that was inside the camera is missing. Where did it go? The camera is here, but the film inside has disappeared, so it's just strange. Do you know?"
Kitagawa remains downcast.
"I'd like you to say something instead of being silent..."
Nishida said a sarcastic word, then coldly announced,
"Well, it's your right to remain silent, so it can't be helped, but we'll proceed with the talk as we please. I'll tell you that much."
"We see it this way: in the early hours of June 9th, you killed Yoshimi-san and took the camera. Probably, the reason you killed him was that Yoshimi-san photographed you doing something with the camera. Noticing that, you chased Yoshimi-san, killed him, and took the camera. And you took the film. Am I wrong?"
Kitagawa is still silent. Nishida, of course, didn't think Kitagawa had committed direct murder, but to see how he reacted, it was preferable to say so as before. Then, Nishida decided to try changing the angle. Nishida's tone also became slightly faster.
"By the way, a shovel, lanterns, and such were seized from your car."
He remained silent even at that interrogation.
"What on earth were you doing in the middle of the night? It's something you shouldn't be seen doing, right? But killing someone for that is unforgivable!"
Nishida tried to intimidate by banging on the desk. Then Kitagawa, who had been silent until then, opened his mouth so he could be heard clearly, though in a small voice.
"...I, I didn't kill him..."
"You didn't kill him? Then can you explain what happened? If you don't do that, we can't be convinced at all!"
Nishida's mind was calm, but his tone alone became even more heated.
"...A strong light shone toward me, and thinking 'What?', I went to see, and someone was already lying face down... When I turned him over, he was bleeding from his head. He didn't respond even when I called out. I shone a flashlight in his eyes, but his pupils were dilated... I thought he was dead."
Kitagawa began to speak bit by bit.
"After confirming Yoshimi's death, what did you do with the body?"
"I returned it to its original state..."
Nishida confirmed because the body was face down when it was discovered by the JR staff, and if it was as he said, there was no problem with the consistency of the talk.
"Then fine... But what about the camera. You shouldn't have needed to take it. What on earth did you think was photographed. If you don't tell me that, it won't be a talk!"
Kitagawa fell silent again at Nishida's follow-up.
"If you won't answer, it can't be helped... Well, you'll open your mouth eventually. However, either way, you admit you took the camera from the dead Yoshimi-san, right?"
Kitagawa nodded slightly at Takeshita's question.
"And what did you do with the film?" Nishida asked again.
"I put it out with the burnable trash..."
"...I see. Already concealed, huh."
Nishida clicked his tongue, but to be honest, he felt that even if something was captured on the film, it would at most be a scene of Kitagawa digging up the ground, so he felt it wasn't a big blow, and it was also within expectations.
Behind the interrogation room, Kurano and his team were watching the situation, and they were satisfied that Kitagawa had admitted to the embezzlement of lost property regarding the camera quite easily.
"What should we do, should we have them push as far as the Yoneda matter? We've also brought up the shovel talk." Section Chief Sawai asked Kurano for instructions.
"It's a difficult point... Regarding Yoshimi, it's consistent with the scene situation as an accidental death, and he admitted to the camera. For now, how about we create an interrogation statement for this today, and since the Yoneda matter will likely take time, we stop here (for today)?"
Kurano showed the view that there was no need to delve into the murder of Yoneda on the same day.
"I see, then I'll go call Nishida." Sawai left the back room, opened the door to the interrogation room, beckoned Nishida, and instructed him to come to the back.
"Team Leader Nishida, good work. It didn't take as much time as expected up to here." Kurano praised him.
"Yeah, he probably realized he couldn't deceive us because the interrogation for the separate charge suddenly started and he wasn't mentally prepared. He probably gave up." Nishida said this and lit a cigarette.
"I talked with the Senior Staff, and we're thinking of stopping here for today, what do you think?"
Nishida smiled wryly at being told so by Sawai.
"If the Senior Staff and Section Chief say so, I have no choice but to follow. It was decided that our role was up to here anyway."
Kurano lightly bowed his head.
"The talk about division of labor is also part of it, but the Yoneda matter will be quite long, so I think it's better to leave it for tomorrow so it doesn't become half-baked. I want to go all at once in terms of flow, but please bear with it for a bit."
"Right. There's no need to rush that much. I'll leave it at that for today."
Nishida pressed the cigarette he had just smoked into the ashtray, immediately returned to the interrogation room, and ordered Komura to create a simple interrogation statement for the Yoshimi matter.
A few hours later, the four members of the Engaru Station were on their way back to Engaru. This was because it was decided that the interrogation for the Yoshimi matter would be finished for now, and they would interrogate properly once more at the point of re-arrest. For that reason, the turn for the interrogation at the Kitami Station for Nishida and his team came to an end for now.
"Even so, how long do they intend to do it with the separate charge?" Takeshita in the passenger seat suddenly voiced a doubt.
"How long, well, won't they pull him until the very limit of the detention period for the accident?" Section Chief Sawai said as if it were someone else's business.
"But you know, as of today, re-arrest for the Yoshimi matter is possible almost immediately. Rather than keeping him in detention at the Kitami Station forever, I think we should pull Kitagawa to Engaru?"
"Takeshita, there's no point in saying such idealistic things... Using as much time as you have is the ironclad rule of investigation." Nishida said as if amazed. Takeshita's love for sound arguments sometimes seemed to Nishida to be too much of an ideal theory.
"You say that, but since he already has a lawyer this time, I think various things will become troublesome if we drag it out with a separate charge."
"I think the headquarters will designate the meeting and make it so he can't meet until about the day after tomorrow..." The Section Chief also spoke in a somewhat dismissive way, as if he found it troublesome.
"I think there's enough time even with the main case arrest, including the detention extension... Even though physical evidence and circumstantial evidence are quite gathered this time..." Takeshita spoke with dissatisfaction, but he probably thought there was no point in saying more, as he fell silent.
In that atmosphere, the Section Chief tried to change the mood.
"By the way, if there's no interrogation tomorrow, Nishida, can't we do something about that in-law matter of Tanaka and Kitagawa?"
"Ah, I completely forgot about that talk. But we can't ask Tanaka directly now, so as I said earlier, we have no choice but to watch for a while."
"That's right. Thinking about it now, it might have been okay to throw that matter at Kitagawa in the interrogation just now..."
To Sawai, who spoke with a regretful tone, Nishida gave a follow-up.
"That might be true, but since the Yoneda matter and Sada's disappearance are also involved, it's better to do it after we've finished hearing everything." However, something immediately came to mind.
"Section Chief, do you remember that I also heard various things from an old man named Okuda, a friend of Tanaka's, during the witness inquiry of Tanaka?"
"Yeah, I remember."
"It's bad to ask Tanaka directly, but if it's Okuda, it might not be much of a problem even if we ask various things."
"But he's Tanaka's friend, right? Won't the talk leak?"
"I'll manage somehow. Besides, Okuda was quite talkative and cooperative with us, so I feel like he might keep quiet to some extent if we ask him not to tell Tanaka."
"That's wishful thinking. Are you sure?"
"I think it's better to move when we can. It looks like we'll be busy from now on."
"I see... Then I'll leave it to you." Sawai said this and lightly tapped Nishida's shoulder beside him.
On July 28th, Michishita from the Hokkaido Police Headquarters arrived in Kitami early in the morning and joined the investigation headquarters. Since he had achieved success in interrogations for many famous cases, even from the perspective of Kurano, who was watching from the back, it had become a powerful interrogation.
"Soil of the same components as the place where Yoneda's body was discovered was detected from the shovel that was in your car and seized! Wasn't the scene Yoshimi photographed the scene where you were trying to dig up Yoneda's body? If so, everything is explained! And on top of that, searching for Yoneda's body means you must have known that Yoneda was buried there. In other words, you must be the person who killed and buried him, right? In other words, you killed and buried him, didn't you?!"
Kitagawa accepted Michishita's words in silence as he continued to bang on the desk, kick it, and shower him with relentless words. The morning interrogation ended with Michishita attacking unilaterally, but at the end, Kitagawa requested a meeting with his lawyer.
"Senior Staff, what will you do? Will you grant the meeting?" Michishita, who had finished the interrogation for now, asked Kurano in an arrogant manner despite the other being 'above' him in rank. The pride of being sent directly from the Hokkaido Police Headquarters in Sapporo for the interrogation was clearly visible.
"We can't refuse forever. Wouldn't it be fine to grant it tomorrow morning?"
"Soft, soft. You'll be underestimated with that!"
"Even if you say that, since we've granted it for the separate charge without problem, the opposing lawyer has already realized that there's almost nothing to do. It would be bad in various ways to not grant the meeting there..."
"Tch... If the person responsible for the scene says so much, I guess it can't be helped... I wanted to make him confess (gero) today if possible before the lawyer gets involved... Well, since that's how it is, I guess I have to eat before the 'battle' and prepare for the afternoon..."
Michishita reluctantly accepted Kurano's opinion, but he didn't hide his blatant dissatisfaction. Kurano saw off Michishita as he left the room with a look of 'good grief,' but he pulled himself together, thinking that if he fell quickly, Michishita wouldn't be involved in the investigation for so long.
Just then, as if swapping with Michishita who had gone out for lunch, Nishida visited Kurano. At the unexpected visit, Kurano spoke.
"What, were you worried about the progress of the investigation and went out of your way to come from Engaru?"
"I can't say I'm not worried, but about that matter of Kitagawa and Tanaka... I just got an appointment for a witness inquiry of Okuda tomorrow, so I thought I'd borrow Kitamura. Well, it's true I also came to see how things were... I could have finished that with just a phone call, though."
"Is Okuda the guy who was Tanaka's colleague?"
"Yes. Since my part of the interrogation is settled for now, I reconsidered that I should move ahead of schedule and move in the meantime. If we're trying to avoid asking Tanaka directly now for fear of information leakage, Okuda would be safe. I intend to ask while skillfully deceiving him. Besides, if it's Okuda, I feel like he might listen if I ask him not to tell Tanaka, even though he's Tanaka's friend. I don't think I can expect much, but I want to confirm the possibilities for now."
Kurano seemed quite satisfied with Nishida's idea.
"I see. I don't know how much Okuda can be trusted, but I understand Nishida's thinking. You can take Kitamura with you. Right now, the background investigation of Kitagawa is in a state where only some investigators are moving because it's at the separate-charge stage. In the first place, most of it has already been investigated." Kurano was quite satisfied.
"Understood. Then I'll do that. By the way, how is the interrogation going?"
"Detective Michishita is here and is at the stage of pressing him. For now, no particular movement. He remains silent."
"I see... Well, as expected, since it involves murder, he might be cautious."
"Oh right, he also requested a meeting with his lawyer."
"Will you grant it?"
"Of course we can't refuse forever."
"It'll be found out it's a separate charge."
"I'm aware of that..." Nishida dared to throw a dissenting opinion.
"Our Takeshita says based on yesterday's interrogation status that 'we should arrest for the main case,' what do you think?"
"Takeshita, huh... He would say that." Kurano spoke as if it were expected, but continued as if spitting it out, "Procedurally, it's better to do as Takeshita says, but in the police, you're mocked if you adopt such a straightforward investigation method. You think so too, right?"
"That might be true. I also think Takeshita is green as a detective..." Kurano smiled at Nishida's statement, but Nishida took it as being close to self-derision rather than despising Takeshita.
Before noon on July 29th, Nishida, who drove from Engaru himself and picked up Kitamura at the Kitami Regional Headquarters, left the subsequent driving to Kitamura and was heading to Okuda's house in Kunneppu. The previous day, the maximum temperature didn't even reach 22 degrees, which was low for this season, but on this day, although it was somewhat cloudy, it was a summer day again. Nishida doesn't like air conditioners much, so he drove with the windows fully open on the road with little traffic.
"I heard that Michishita-san's (interrogation) investigation at the headquarters yesterday was quite harsh. Even so, it seems Kitagawa is doing his best to remain silent. Team Leader Nishida actually saw it, right? How was it?" It seems Michishita's harsh interrogation had become a topic of conversation even at the Kitami Regional Headquarters.
"Certainly, he's a type of detective you don't see much lately. However, a while ago, people like that were at a normal level. When I became a detective, there were already few, but from what I heard from my seniors, it seems there were many who were quite harsh. Well, it's partly because false charges occurred frequently and scientific investigation progressed considerably."
"Ah, the kind where they don't let you sleep all night?"
"Yes. Pushing your head against the desk. It's a kind of torture-like interrogation. Lately, there's a lot of criticism, and you'll be attacked by the media for that kind of thing."
"Compared to that, is it better because it's just words..."
"It's proof that the police are changing. It's an era where corporal punishment is a problem even in schools..."
"That's true too..." Perhaps because Kitamura agreed with Nishida's talk quite easily, the conversation also stopped for a while, but in the midst of the unchanging scenery piercing through the farming area, Kitamura resumed the conversation.
"Even so, Old Man Tanaka has it tough. Is it the second time he's been suspected of this and that?"
"That's true, but this time, unlike the previous time, it's not as a suspect but whether he's a collaborator, so the dimension is different, right? Besides, I think Tanaka is likely not involved in the case. Of course, I'm aware that preconceptions are dangerous."
"But you know, he happened to have done remains collection in the past, and this time, he happened to be doing remains collection again, and he spoke up to stop it. Moreover, that activity plan was the indirect cause of the discovery of this case, right? Furthermore, isn't it too much of a coincidence no matter how you look at it that he happened to be the father-in-law of the most important suspect?"
"Coincidence, coincidence, coincidence, you're being persistent!" Nishida pretended to be angry, but as a matter of fact, too many coincidences are overlapping. However, even so, the consistency of Tanaka's actions does not collapse. It's certainly a troublesome talk.
"Anyway, what we have to do is verify by accumulating facts, including what we hear from Old Man Okuda today. That's all we can do, right..." When Kitamura nodded, the country sign of Kunneppu Town (Author's note: A sign near the entrance of a city, town, or village boundary with an illustration of the image of that municipality. Those in Hokkaido are particularly famous), an illustration imagining a "Kunneppu Melon," entered their view. Since they had visited last time, they reached Okuda's house without getting lost, and Okuda, who noticed the visit by the sound of the gravel being stepped on by the car, opened the front door himself and welcomed them.
"You're earlier than I thought."
"Yeah, the road was empty too." At Nishida's word,
"No, it's always empty," Okuda laughed. When they were guided to the same room as before, sushi, which seemed to have been ordered, was prepared there. Nishida hadn't thought that lunch would be prepared, even though he had told him he would visit before noon.
"No, excuse me. To think you'd go to such trouble. I should have considered the time..." he could only be thoroughly apologetic.
"We'll talk after we finish eating the sushi!" Since there was no particular hurry, the two decided to accept Okuda's proposal. While eating sushi, they had some idle small talk, but it could be seen that Okuda did not yet know that Kitagawa, Tanaka's son-in-law, had been arrested.
"Ah, that was delicious. Thank you for the meal!" Kitamura voiced his satisfaction while having a smoke with the tea Okuda's wife brought.
"No, really, thank you for the meal. I haven't eaten sushi lately, so it felt especially delicious. Thank you for the meal." Nishida also gave his thanks.
"I'm glad then. It's a reward for being a talk partner for an idle old man, a reward!" Okuda gave a cheerful laugh and took the empty sushi tub to the kitchen.
Watching that, Nishida took a copy of the memorial ceremony booklet he brought out of his bag and placed it on the desk. Kitamura's expression upon seeing that movement also changed from the relaxed one until just now to a tightened face. To Okuda, who returned, Nishida immediately spoke.
"I'm sorry to have such a talk immediately after having the sushi..."
"Oh, already that talk. I wanted to have some silly talk for a while to digest..." Okuda's tone was dissatisfied, but looking at his expression, he seemed to be accepting the detectives' convenience naturally.
"It's become necessary to ask more deeply about the attendees than last time."
"Kiyoshi (Tanaka's name) was no problem, right?" Okuda's question was, for Nishida who came to probe that again, to be honest, something that struck a bad part, but Nishida said,
"Yeah, well." and skillfully parried it.
"Then what do you want to ask? Nishida-san. Ah, wait a moment. I'll take out the original paper." Okuda took the original booklet out of a chest of drawers nearby, took his reading glasses out of his chest pocket, and hooked them on his nose.
"First, I'd like to ask about the current status of the JNR-side attendees as far as you know."
"Current status?" Okuda showed an attitude of not understanding the meaning of Nishida's question.
"In other words, I'd like you to tell me what these people are doing now, as far as you know."
"Even if you say that, I don't know everyone. There are people I've become distant from, and people who are dead. You detectives understand that too, right?"
Certainly, after nearly 20 years, memories would be vague, and if there was no interaction, there would be people whose current status is unknown. Nishida knew that, but he was certain that since the son-in-law of Tanaka Kiyoshi, with whom he still interacts, was also Okuda's colleague, he could hear something about Kitagawa. No, more than that, if he could find that out, the purpose of this witness inquiry would be achieved. However, if he asked from there suddenly, the opponent would be suspicious. Therefore, the plan was to ask about everyone and skillfully deceive him. Of course, it was an orthodox move to ask about Kitagawa straight from the start and ask Okuda to keep quiet to Tanaka, but he felt somewhat hesitant to choose that from the start.
"For people you don't know, it's fine to say you don't know. That can't be helped."
"That's fine then... Also, for people I don't know, Kiyoshi might know?"
"Right. I think I'll have something to ask Tanaka-san separately. Today I'll have you tell me as far as you know, Okuda-san." Since Tanaka's name suddenly came out, Nishida was flustered for a moment, but he managed to get through it skillfully.
"Understood. Then what should I do?"
"Can you tell me in order from the top of this?" Nishida said this and pointed to the top of the list of attendees from JNR on the copy, which was the JNR Asahikawa Railway Bureau Director at the time. Okuda responded while looking at his own original.
"No, as expected, I had no interaction with such a high-ranking person, so I don't know. At that time, like Kiyoshi, I was just a facility supervisor of the track maintenance unit. Age-wise, he's probably a Buddha (deceased), though." Okuda laughed heartily.
"From about what level of person do you know?" At Nishida's question,
"From about this Track Maintenance Unit Chief Yamanaka-san, there are many people I had interaction with. But this person is also dead. Or rather, I think the only one alive among the people who held positions higher than us is Assistant Station Master Suginami-san. To be honest, it's a waste of time." Okuda answered.
"I see. Then..." he said, and Nishida began to ask about the people below the facility supervisor rank, including Okuda and the others. Regarding the employees who didn't hold positions, those listed toward the top were also mostly deceased, and since they weren't in alphabetical order, Nishida inferred that they were probably in order of age except for the position holders. He remembered hearing from Tanaka during the previous inquiry that JNR retirees also participated, so retirees might have been grouped in the JNR employee column. However, since that wasn't important, Nishida ignored it and continued to point and ask. Okuda's knowledge of current status was about half and half.
"How about this person?"
"Takahashi, huh. I had no interaction with this guy, so I don't know about him now. When it was privatized, he was in the Kokuro (National Railway Workers' Union), so he shouldn't have been hired by JR, but I don't know what happened after that."
"Come to think of it, various things happened when it became JR..." Kitamura cut in.
"That's right, Kitamura-san. Even people about your age were fired normally. You understand well that it was a big deal, right?" Okuda raised his reading glasses slightly and spoke solemnly while looking at Kitamura.
"Both Tanaka-san and Okuda-san were hired as-is even after privatization, right?"
"Yeah, we held positions and had already left the labor union."
"I see. That makes sense." Nishida was convinced and pointed to the next person. Kitagawa's name was finally there. Both Nishida and Kitamura concentrated their gazes on Okuda's mouth.
"Ah, Kitagawa, huh. This guy is, well, he's become Kiyoshi's son-in-law. He married Kiyoshi's daughter. Are you surprised?"
"Ho. Is that so!" The two were careful not to be too unnatural while voicing surprise in their acting.
"Was he already married at this time?"
"He should have been married by 1977... I believe the wedding I attended was around 1971 or 72..." As he said so, he touched the metal part between the lenses of his reading glasses, the so-called bridge, several times with his finger.
Following Kitamura, Nishida also asks.
"Did Tanaka-san introduce his daughter to this person after all?"
"Hmm, how did the romance start... At a meeting that included employees' families, Kiyoshi's daughter—ah, she's called Kanako—came, and Kitagawa fell in love at first sight or something... Even for Kiyoshi, since she's his cute daughter, he didn't seem to feel very good about it, but if Kanako fell in love too, it couldn't be helped."
"He didn't feel very good?"
"Nishida-san, do you have children, especially a daughter?"
"An only daughter."
"Then you should understand. A father doesn't like a man who snatches away his daughter, no matter what kind of man he is." When told that, Okuda's words gained more persuasiveness.
"That might be true." At Nishida's agreement,
"It's not 'might be true,' it's just how it is, right?" Okuda pointed out with a smile.
"Then, was the relationship between Tanaka-san and this Kitagawa-san not very good?"
"Kitamura-san. I can't deny that it couldn't be called good. However, the reason wasn't just the father's jealousy; there were also problems with Kitagawa himself. He wasn't a bad guy, but he loved mahjong. The serious Kiyoshi didn't quite like such a gambling lover. But it might be even worse now."
"Why is that?"
"It's probably from around the job change, isn't it, that the relationship between the two started to become strained?"
"Job change?" Nishida already grasped that it was about the job change to the Isaka Group, but he tried to draw out more after Kitamura.
"Look, the Isaka Group is also listed here. He changed jobs to here. Uh, when was it... 1982, 83... I can't remember the details, but four or five years before it became JR. At that time, the Isaka Group, which was growing, decided to hire several track maintenance employees in connection with the track maintenance business they were doing for JNR, and he quit JNR and moved to the Isaka Group. Well, at that time, the talk is that he clashed with Kiyoshi over whether to quit or not."
"Does that mean the grudge from that time still lingers?"
"To put it simply, that's how it is, Nishida-san." If he took Okuda's talk as it was, Nishida re-confirmed that the scenario where Kitagawa, fearing the discovery of the murder, revealed his intention to Tanaka and Tanaka interfered with the Jomon Tunnel Research Group's investigation at his request, was quite forced.
In the first place, if you think about it carefully, immediately after the remains collection plan was drafted, Tanaka was consulted by Matsushige, the chairman of the research group, and said immediately that there was no need. In other words, if Tanaka had worked on Matsushige to avoid discovery, Tanaka would need to have known about Kitagawa's involvement in the murder and abandonment of Yoneda before that plan was built. Yoneda's murder was three years ago. At that time, the relationship between the two was already not good, and either way, it could be concluded that it was impossible that Tanaka Kiyoshi intended to conceal the crime and brought up the cancellation of the remains collection to Matsushige. In addition, the fact that Tanaka backed down easily when Matsushige rejected his advice also allowed for denial. After all, Nishida was convinced that Tanaka was clear (shiro).
"However, in the end, Kitagawa's decision was correct. After all, he's now a heavy hitter as an executive director of the top construction company in the region, the Isaka Group... For a man without much education to be an executive of a large company, it's a success that others would envy. However, conversely, such success probably makes Kiyoshi, who opposed the job change, feel even more unpleasant..."
"Ho, he climbed all the way to executive director? That's amazing, since it was after changing jobs. Did he have some achievement?" Nishida tried to press further while acting as if he didn't know, thinking he might be able to draw something out.
"No, I don't really know about that. It seems he was promoted in rapid succession suddenly. Even Kiyoshi, who should be a relative, said he didn't really know. Some people even said that maybe it was because the previous president of the Isaka Group liked mahjong, and that influenced it."
"I see. So he curried favor with the president."
"I don't know about the police, but in the world, it's important to be liked by the 'top,' right?" Kitamura, who questioned instead of Nishida, replied to Okuda's question,
"No, the relationship with the boss is important in the police too. However, in the case of the police, it might be a bit different from others in that you can't be promoted unless you get points in the promotion exam." Then, Nishida, curious about the connection to Sada's disappearance case, asked,
"About the time he was promoted, were there any changes in this Kitagawa-san's appearance?" and tried to delve deeper.
At the excessive interest, Okuda spoke with a suspicious tone, "You're asking quite a bit about this guy, did Kitagawa do something?" He's a cheerful old man, but his intuition is sharp.
"No, no, just in the flow of the talk..." Nishida hurriedly deceived him.
"Hmm, if that's the case, then fine... I haven't met Kitagawa much since he quit JNR, so I don't know about that. However, I heard from the people who were close to him during the JNR era and continued to associate with him afterward that he was saying 'I'm going to make a lot of money from now on' a little before he was promoted. That was the time called the bubble, right? Construction was profitable because of that, so that might have been the reason."
From Okuda's answer, Nishida felt that the credibility of Kitagawa's involvement in the disappearance of Sada in the autumn of 1987 had increased even more. Nishida's impression of Tanaka and Kitagawa had become a contrasting result.
"I see... Indeed, construction was profitable in that era. I'm envious because the good economy has nothing to do with detectives." After that, Nishida lined up harmless words as if to deceive him.
"But you and the other one both know the ease of 'working for the government (oyakata hinomaru),' right?" Okuda probably didn't intend to make a malicious statement, but the two were slightly offended, thinking "Don't lump us in with JNR employees who only did strikes and such." However, since they couldn't get angry at Okuda who was cooperating over such a thing, Nishida smoothed over the situation and said,
"That might be true. Anyway, I'm sorry for derailing the talk so much. Then please continue."
At the same time, Nishida thought he had heard what he needed to hear, and decided to just listen appropriately until the end and take his leave after some small talk. And as per that plan, after identifying about two more people on the list after Kitagawa, he had received answers from Okuda that he didn't know them well. Just as he was thinking of continuing to listen appropriately like this, when Nishida pointed to the next person, "Shinoda Michiyoshi," an unexpected talk came out of Okuda's mouth.
"Ah, Shinoda, huh... This guy also moved to the Isaka Group along with Kitagawa. And he also climbed to executive director. I heard he was promoted just like Kitagawa."
Told an unexpected fact, both Nishida and Kitamura looked at each other involuntarily.
"What do you mean? Did Kitagawa and this Shinoda quit and go to the Isaka Group at the same time, and were they promoted at the same time?"
"Yeah. At least that's what I heard... But I heard this directly from Kiyoshi, so there's no mistake. Kiyoshi probably heard it from Kitagawa too."
Nishida's tone suddenly became quite fast and his voice became sharp, so Okuda had an expression as if he were taken aback for a moment, but he answered as if he regained his composure.
If a person named Shinoda had achieved the same kind of promotion at the same time as Kitagawa, it would become necessary to consider the possibility that Shinoda was also involved in the disappearance of Sada. At the unexpected development, Nishida felt a sense of elation. Kitamura had also begun to actually record in his notebook, which had been just for show.
"So, is this person still at the Isaka Group?" Nishida asks Okuda as if cutting him off. For some reason, Okuda became hesitant to speak as if he felt bad.
"Okuda-san, is there a problem?"
"Nishida-san, it's a problem... This Shinoda died about a year and a half ago... I don't know what it is, but it seems there's something important for you detectives about Kitagawa and Shinoda..."
Before Okuda could finish, the two each let out a voice that was hard to describe.
"Hah..."
Nishida felt that Okuda was quite bewildered by the change in the two from just a moment ago. He had intended to avoid letting the other party realize whose and what investigation it was, but at least who the investigation target was had been subtly realized in Kitagawa's case, and in Shinoda's case, it was certain that he had completely realized that he had become an investigation target here. However, it's not a time to worry about that now. He decided to hear more.
"What was the cause of Shinoda-san's death?"
To be honest, Nishida was having a vulgar—no, a detective's—suspicion that there might be some criminality even in Shinoda's death, which is why he ended up voicing such a question on the spot.
"Was it liver cancer? It seems he had been suffering from mild hepatitis since he was young. He used to say at work that he caught it from a vaccination. In the end, it progressed rapidly and it was quick." Okuda's answer meant Nishida's suspicion was off, but either way, Nishida thought the case might be starting to show a different development.
"Do you know the contact information for Shinoda-san's bereaved family?"
"Nishida-san, I'm sorry. Since I haven't had interaction for a while, I don't know. Wouldn't it be better to ask at the Isaka Group?"
"I see... That can't be helped. Understood. We'll manage somehow." Nishida said this and asked about the employees on the list until the end just in case, but as expected, he didn't obtain any more necessary information.
"No, really, thank you for your cooperation. And for the sushi. I have nothing but gratitude." Nishida gave his thanks after finishing the job and putting the copy in his bag. Hearing that, Okuda said,
"No, no, sorry for making you stay for an old man's small talk. Actually, I'd like you to stay for more of an old man's talk, but it seems you detectives are going to be busy from now on, so I can't hold you back. It'll be hard in various ways, but do your best."
Our intention seemed to have been completely found out, but it can't be helped now, and it's not a time to worry. However, when he asked,
"Should I keep this talk quiet from Kiyoshi?" Nishida only gave a simple instruction,
"If possible." He didn't need to say it himself, and he was deeply grateful for the thoughtful consideration.
And just before leaving Okuda's house, at the front door where the two gave their thanks again, Kitamura suddenly threw a question.
"By the way, Okuda-san. The people listed on this memorial ceremony attendee list from September 25, 1977, actually participated in the remains collection, right?"
"Except for the high-ranking people, the people below us should have participated in the collection activities at least a few times, though the number of times varies. However, I completely forgot to say this, but there are no days off for track maintenance work, so it's not certain if the people on that list actually participated in the memorial ceremony on the day. There were definitely people working on that day. Think of it as everyone who ever participated in the collection being listed in the JNR employee column."
"I see. So, how much did Kitagawa and Shinoda participate in the collection? And did they actually participate in the ceremony?"
"I don't clearly remember the details, sorry. But it can't be helped, right? It was a long time ago. However, I think they participated in the remains collection a fair number of times. And at least, Kiyoshi and I naturally attended the memorial ceremony and did collection activities several times... Ah, right! Kitagawa and Shinoda were in the same work team as us at the time, so there's no mistake in thinking they attended. To think I don't even remember that, oh, I hate it, I hate it..." Okuda laughed while scratching his head.
"I see. Then, I'm sorry for being a bit abstract, but was there anything at the remains collection or memorial ceremony at that time?"
"Anything? ...No, nothing comes to mind, are you curious about something? Since I don't even remember being in the same team, that's an unreasonable talk..."
"No, then it's fine... Sorry for asking something strange..." Kitamura immediately apologized to Okuda, and the two left the front door, got into the car, and left the Okuda residence. It could be confirmed that Okuda saw off Nishida and his team by waving his hand until they disappeared from the view of the rearview mirror.
"Even so, it was an unexpected development. More interesting information came out than the matter of Kitagawa and Tanaka." Kitamura spoke while stepping on the accelerator.
"Something we didn't even expect came out... I'm glad it turned out that we didn't just end with the confirmation of Tanaka being clear (shiro). I'll report to the top immediately. Let's stop by the station where Kurano-san is first, rather than the Regional Headquarters. Though it's right next door." Nishida proposed this, but immediately asked,
"Come to think of it, you were saying something to Old Man Okuda earlier, was there something on your mind?"
"It's not a big deal. However, as you probably feel, Nishida-san, if Yoneda went missing and was murdered and buried at the place where Kitagawa did remains collection and the memorial ceremony, I feel like it's not a coincidence. I thought it might be related to that and just asked. I thought the local knowledge in the sense of that area being his workplace for track maintenance also influenced the case."
What Kitamura was saying was certainly something Nishida also felt somehow. But although that was true, if asked what specific explanation could be given, it was the kind of talk where Nishida also didn't know anything.
When they returned to Kitami and stopped by the station, they felt the greetings from the Regional Headquarters investigators they passed in the hallway were unusually distant, and they felt an atmosphere of being flustered, unlike until yesterday. They went up the stairs as they were, and Kurano, who had come out of the interrogation waiting room, was in view across the hallway, but he was busy contacting someone on his cell phone and didn't seem to notice the approach of Nishida and Kitamura. Based on the conversation, he was confirming something. For a Senior Staff, he had an unusually harsh tone.
"Did something happen? I feel like the air is a bit strange." Kitamura questioned, but Nishida also didn't know the answer, so he tried to grasp the situation while giving a vague reply.
But they reached Kurano before they could get the answer. He was still talking on the phone, so they couldn't talk to him, and they decided to wait until the phone call ended. Kurano made a gesture of turning his palm toward them, probably meaning "wait a bit." Checking the watch, it was already past 3:00 PM. Finally finishing the conversation and hanging up, Kurano responded to the two.
"Oh, sorry. I kept you waiting..."
"Did something happen? Everyone is unusually flustered?"
"Well, Nishida. It's suddenly become a big deal!" Kurano spread his hands exaggeratedly and made a face as if he'd swallowed a bitter bug.
"Does that mean something happened in Kitagawa's interrogation?" Kitamura's inference seemed to be spot on. Kurano nodded and announced,
"In the afternoon interrogation, he suddenly claimed an alibi."
"An alibi?!" Nishida accidentally raised a loud voice, but covered his mouth himself.
"It's okay, we've already returned Kitagawa to the detention cell. In the first place, if he were still in the interrogation room, I wouldn't be talking in this tone..." After Kurano's explanation, Nishida felt relieved, but immediately followed up,
"What alibi did he talk about?"
"About the murder of Yoneda. The day Yoneda went missing was August 10th three years ago, and when Michishita-san was pressing him about 'What were you doing on that day?', he said he was staying in America for a long period at that time..."
"America... I can't easily believe he was staying for a long period. What was he doing?" Kitamura's doubt was also natural. Nishida felt the same.
"Do you know Elizabeth City in America, which is a sister city of Kitami?"
"No, it's the first I've heard of it. Elizabeth City in America? It sounds a bit British, since it's the name of a queen."
"Nishida, you too. I thought so too when I first heard it earlier. Normally it's like that, right?" Kurano emphasized the end of his sentence unusually.
Elizabeth City is a city located on the Atlantic coast of New Jersey in the northeastern United States, with a population of about 120,000. It is within a 30-minute drive from New York City and is known as one of the oldest and most historical cities in the state, with private houses, public buildings, and churches built 200 to 300 years ago preserved as city cultural assets.
It has port facilities for container ships that boast one of the largest scales in the world, and manufacturing and food processing industries are flourishing. It has deep ties with Japan and is known as an industrial and maritime city. The reason it became a sister city with Kitami was because the hometown of the Pierson missionary couple, the first foreigners to reside in Kitami, was that Elizabeth City. Sister city affiliation began in 1969.
"So, what about that Elizabeth City?"
"Kitagawa says that he stayed in Elizabeth City from mid-July to early October of 1987. Apparently, there was a cultural exchange project to build a Japanese house in Elizabeth City, and several staff from Kitami City and people related to the private housing business from the Isaka Group, including Kitagawa, were dispatched. It's only at the phone stage, but we've just obtained testimony from a Kitami City staff member who went with him."
Nishida didn't know that the Isaka Group had expanded into housing-related businesses, aside from the past railway track maintenance business, but he thought they were probably chosen by Kitami City because they had know-how in wooden construction.
"What about the background check with the Immigration Bureau?"
"Kitamura, of course I've requested the Hokkaido Police Headquarters to inquire with the Immigration Bureau! It won't take much time. However, it's probably already settled just with the testimony of the Kitami City staff... Since the body was abandoned at almost the same place where Yoneda went missing, it's most likely that he was murdered at the time he went missing. In that case, it's impossible for Kitagawa, who was overseas for that long, to be involved in the murder and abandonment of Yoneda."
Since it's impossible to accurately grasp the time Yoneda was murdered, the possibility that Yoneda, who had been confined, was murdered after Kitagawa returned home is not zero. However, looking at the summary of the case, it is indeed logical to see that he was murdered at the scene at the time he went missing, and in that case, it can be said that the possibility of Kitagawa being involved in the murder or body abandonment is almost non-existent. The framework drawn by the investigation headquarters had collapsed at this point, and the impact was more than imagined.
"If Kitagawa isn't the main culprit (honboshi)... This is bad." Nishida scratched his head and tried his best to find the next words. Even so, they didn't easily come to mind. Trying to connect his words somehow, he said as if squeezing them out,
"The saving grace is that Kitagawa is thought to have known the location of Yoneda's body... Even if he wasn't directly involved, he knows something indirectly. That's the only thing to rely on..." but he couldn't hide his shock.
"Next, why he tried to recover the body even though it wasn't his own crime will also be a key point." Kitamura supplemented.
"Just as you two say. The thread hasn't been completely cut yet. Let's think about making a comeback... Oh right, by the way, how was it on your end?" The two, who had completely forgotten about their own results due to the sudden development, realized for the first time that they hadn't reported on the inquiry with Okuda when told by the Senior Staff.
"Sorry, we were surprised and forgot about ourselves. This is a relatively good talk, so that part was good."
"Nishida's is a good talk? That's a help..." Kurano didn't hide his relief. Or rather, it might be more accurate to say he didn't even have the leeway to do so.
"To state the conclusion, I think Tanaka is clear (shiro) with a quite high probability. This remains unchanged."
"What, he's clear? Then even if it was expected, it can't be called a good talk, right? Nishida." Kurano voiced his blatant dissatisfaction.
"That's not the point. From Okuda's talk, it seems there was a person named Shinoda who was re-employed at the Isaka Group from JNR at the same time as Kitagawa, and that guy achieved a promotion similar to Kitagawa at the same time."
"A similar promotion at the same time?"
"In other words, he seems to have had a promotion with similar treatment at the same time." Nishida intended to summarize the main points, but he clearly just repeated what Kurano said, only making it longer.
"...I see. That means it's on the premise that it's related to the Sada disappearance, right?"
"I think so."
"Originally, it would be quite a big news to be happy about. But the destructive power of the other one is too much..." It was just as Kurano said. One was news at a level where the investigation policy had to be completely turned around, so it far exceeded the "hope" of a new clue.
"Anyway, we have to investigate that matter too. After corroborating Kitagawa's alibi, we'll have to have an investigation meeting tomorrow, so let's talk about it then. Even so, it's truly a blessing in disguise, this talk. Summarize that in a report by the end of today." Kurano gave instructions to the two while glancing at his cell phone.
"I know. But why did he suddenly claim an alibi today after not claiming it until yesterday..." Nishida's doubt was natural. But Kurano stated his own thoughts in response.
"It was probably the meeting with Lawyer Matsuda this morning that influenced it. He judged it better to actively clear the suspicion regarding the murder and body abandonment rather than trying to deceive by staying silent and indirectly admitting he knew about Yoneda's murder. Especially since recovering a body isn't a crime unless it's grave-robbing, it's a natural conclusion, in a sense. But conversely, for Kitagawa, before the lawyer's advice, the former probably had some meaning too."
"Hypothetically, even if Kitagawa thought recovering the body itself was some kind of crime, it would be better than being branded a murderer..." Kitamura shook his head and made a gesture of not understanding.
"Normally one would think so, but if knowing the place where the body was buried is linked to something even bigger, it might be different. He was told by the lawyer's advice that he could manage that side somehow, and he changed his policy... What's common is the pattern of protecting someone. This time too, based on the alibi, he went so far as to try to recover the body to prevent the accidental discovery of a case he himself wasn't directly involved in during the remains collection activity." Nishida answered Kitamura's doubt, but he felt the same lack of conviction even as he said it himself.
"It's quite difficult, but with Nishida's thinking, it should make sense to some extent. And the recovery of the body itself cannot be charged as a crime. As for how he knew the place where it was abandoned, he'll just stick to 'I don't know'. It's not an impossible advice for a lawyer."
On the other hand, Kurano was temporarily convinced by Nishida's follow-up and said,
"There's no point in thinking about it here anymore. Anyway, write the report at the Regional Headquarters as you are. That's the first priority." He ordered the two again.
"Understood. We'll do that." After a light bow, Nishida headed to the Kitami Regional Headquarters with Kitamura.
When they went to the investigation headquarters "annex," Section Chief Sawai, who had received word of the existence of the alibi, had already arrived. Nishida and his team finished the business communication briefly and hurriedly set about the task of creating the report. They finished it in about two hours, but Nishida didn't return to Engaru and waited for the results of the background check with the Immigration Bureau from the Hokkaido Police Headquarters together with Section Chief Sawai.
At 8:00 PM, it was corroborated that Kitagawa had definitely stayed in America for a little less than three months, and Kurano formally decided to call an investigation meeting from early the next morning. It became certain that the investigation policy would be turned around. Nishida and the Section Chief felt it was troublesome to return to Engaru, so they decided to take a nap in the night duty room and prepare for the next day.