Chapter 152 - Name and Reality 75 {103 Solo} (246-247: Motohashi's Crime Notebook 1)
Takeshita and Kuroda stood close to Kuboyama's side and looked at the text. When Kuboyama finished reading, he handed the letter to the other two. Takeshita let Kuroda read it first, and finally finished reading it himself.
The "tiny tapes" probably referred to microcassette tapes (Author's Note: It seems they are still commonly sold) used in answering machines and the like.
"Yasu-no-oyaji," according to Kuboyama, was the term Motohashi used when referring to Tatsukawa Kosuke (real name "Kimura Kouta"). He sometimes just called him Oyaji, but Kuboyama said that the members who could call Tatsukawa "Yasu-no-oyaji" were limited to the boss class of secondary organizations—the top class of the Aoi-ikka organization. For Motohashi, who wasn't even a boss, to be able to call Tatsukawa that showed he was indeed favored.
Just to be sure, as far as Takeshita could check briefly, there seemed to be no elements of a cipher. Kuboyama held the same view.
"The date on this letter, if my memory is correct, should be the day after the last murder case Motohashi-san committed in Kobe."
Takeshita told the two. The murder cases committed by Motohashi, other than the murder of Sada Minoru, were of the following outline and timeline as Takeshita remembered them (Author's Note: Already described in the past):
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Motohashi was formally expelled from the Aoi-ikka in August, Showa 61 (1986).
○ Monday, March 16, Showa 62 (1987)
In Neyagawa City, Osaka Prefecture, a 38-year-old housewife (Hirata Toshiko) was found dead at the entrance of her home with two gunshot wounds to the chest by her second son, an elementary school student, upon his return home. She appeared to have been killed that afternoon.
○ Friday, March 17, Heisei 1 (1989)
In Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo, inside the office of Touou Service Co., Ltd., the president, Hisatomi Taketo (52), was found dead with two gunshot wounds to the chest by an employee who came to work the next day. He appeared to have been killed on the night of the 16th, after all other employees had gone home.
○ Wednesday, August 22, Heisei 2 (1990)
In Minoh City, Osaka Prefecture, in the living room of a detached house, a company employee, Sasaki Takao (48) and his wife Fumie (45), were found dead. Takao had one gunshot wound to the head, and Fumie had two to the chest. From the estimated time of death, they appeared to have been killed between the evening and night of August 20th.
○ Saturday, April 20, Heisei 3 (1991)
At the entrance of a detached house in Shimogion-cho, Hyogo-ku, Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture, a former company executive, Yukihashi Masatsugu (75), was found dead with two gunshot wounds to the chest by a maid who came to work. He appeared to have been killed on the night of Friday the 19th.
On April 23, Heisei 3 (1991), in Tsuyama City, Okayama Prefecture, a passenger car driven by Motohashi was caught in a checkpoint for a separate robbery case, and a handgun was found in the car. He was arrested on the spot for violating the Swords and Firearms Control Law. Afterward, a ballistics check on the handgun matched the rifling marks on the bullets left at the previous crime scenes. The flow was that he was re-arrested on suspicion of murder.
The murder of Sada Minoru, which had not been made public at the time, occurred on September 26, Showa 62 (1987).
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"If he was going to put such a letter here two days after doing it, couldn't he have done something about at least the last one (murder)!"
Kuroda kicked the ground and slipped, but Takeshita could also understand that frustrating feeling all too well.
"Was Aniki caught in Tsuyama, Okayama?"
"Yes, that should definitely be correct."
Takeshita, being confirmed, admitted that the answer was correct.
"Aniki used to go to Tamatsukuri Onsen (Author's Note: A famous ancient hot spring in Matsue City, known since the Heian period) in Shimane whenever he had free time. Tsuyama is on the way to the Chugoku Expressway, so I think he probably got off for some reason when he was going to Tamatsukuri Onsen. It was meant to be his last trip, but did he suddenly change his plans because there was a chance to get pinched before that?"
Kuboyama offered such a guess.
"Tamatsukuri Onsen was indeed a place he liked... I went there with him once during the New Year holidays," Kuroda added.
"Since there was a robbery and Tsuyama City was being checkpointed, it's not impossible that he picked up information on the radio and, if you call it a chance, did such a thing if he was heading to Tamatsukuri Onsen," Takeshita also agreed with that idea. And for the time being, he closed the lid of the ossuary space.
At any rate, judging from the text of this letter, it was confirmed that at the time Motohashi was first caught by his own initiative (not to mention it was neither a surrender nor a turning himself in)... or rather, probably until the stage where Shiino contacted him, or immediately after the death sentence was finalized if he had sensed it in advance, he had almost not been thinking about "revenge." And in the event that he were to bring the facts of the case to light, he intended to do so through Kuboyama.
However, as a result of the cover-up work by the Oshima and Tatsukawa side, Motohashi secretly made the final decision to outmaneuver the opponents. At the same time, ironically, despite being "outsiders," Nishida and Takeshita of the Hokkaido Police, who were full of motivation to investigate, intervened. Furthermore, since they had "read" the background of the case to some extent, he judged it wiser to use them. Kuboyama's role was likely downgraded to that of a mere assistant in the investigation.
In addition, he seemed to have recognized that if the method of making the facts public was wrong, there was a danger that the facts would be conveniently buried by the collaborators of the Hakozaki (Umeda) Faction or the Aoi-ikka, and even more, that danger would reach Kuboyama and Kuroda, who would be participating in the "publicity work."
"What are you going to do after this? It looks like it's going to rain for real."
When pointed out by Kuroda...
"Can we go back to Kuboyama-san's office?" Takeshita checked.
"No, I don't mind, but are you going to listen there? There should have been a radio-cassette player that can play tapes. But even in the car, if it's ours (the car), I'm sure it can still play tapes..."
"If it were trivial content, the car would be fine, but I think it's better to do it in a properly settled place. Including looking at the notebook... Well, there are various things."
Takeshita was vague, but Kuboyama seemed to guess it was about the driver, Shinjo.
"Ah, if that's the case, it can't be helped. Aniki gave instructions not to leave fingerprints and all, so it's better to do it after we've properly settled down."
He showed his agreement.
"Then, let's head back to Osaka! I'll go return the tools now, so you guys go ahead."
Kuroda said that and hurried toward the management office with the hand bucket and other items. The remaining two also walked slowly toward the car, carrying Motohashi's mementos in the plastic bag.
Before getting into the car, Takeshita reported the contents of Motohashi's letter and that they had found what they were looking for to Nishida by phone. Naturally, since that included the matter of Tatsukawa that he had forgotten to mention earlier, there was no need to specifically mention that he had forgotten. At least, judging from the letter Motohashi entrusted to Kuboyama and the letter they just discovered, it was expected that important conversations between Motohashi and Tatsukawa were included. As expected, Nishida wanted to hear the contents quickly. However, Takeshita told him he would check it with extreme caution in a settled place, and Nishida reluctantly agreed. He also told him that the next time he called would be after hearing the contents, so it would probably be at night.
From there, they immediately got on the Hanshin Expressway just as they had when they came and headed for Senda Finance in Minami. Among the three, there was not as much conversation as on the way there, and they didn't look at the scenery flowing past the car windows, but just stared ahead somehow. It was probably because each had their own thoughts about what they would learn from the tapes and notebooks that were said to be conversations with Tatsukawa left by Motohashi. At least, Takeshita did.
Takeshita believed that there must be decisive evidence of Tatsukawa's involvement in the cases recorded there in the conversations between Motohashi and Tatsukawa. Of course, he didn't think Motohashi had obtained the consent of the other party, Tatsukawa, for the recorded audio, and there are rare cases where the admissibility of evidence becomes an issue in criminal trials. However, he was also certain that in the case of a recording by Motohashi, who was a party to the conversation, rather than a case where the police recorded without the permission of both parties, the admissibility of evidence should be recognized.
Shinjo also seemed to have sensed the delicate atmosphere among the three and was considerate; unlike on the way there, he only opened his mouth for a word or two occasionally, but Kuboyama only responded slightly, and the conversation didn't expand. Eventually, having completely sensed the situation, Shinjo also remained silent and concentrated on driving.
And the rain that had started falling in drops in Kobe had become quite a heavy downpour by the time they arrived in Osaka in the evening (Author's Note: A fact based on the Meteorological Agency data at the time).
"It was the right choice to come back early."
In the situation where the car was not moving much due to the congestion on the roads in Osaka city, Kuboyama spoke to Kuroda.
"It's been a while since I've been out to Osaka city (here), but it's as cluttered and gaudy as ever... Somehow, since long ago, this city hasn't suited the nature of us country folk from Kawachi."
He made it look like he was belittling himself, but in reality, he spoke in a way that disparaged the miscellaneous and flashy urban center.
And while the sound of rain hitting the roof of the Mercedes echoed in the quiet car as it remained almost stopped in the traffic jam, the flashy neon lights of central Osaka were reflected vividly on the water surface of the asphalt shrouded in dusk, as if resisting Kuroda's words.
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When they returned to the office, Kuroda seemed to have been there before.
"It's become clean! It used to feel much more dingy."
He said, looking around the interior.
"That time... isn't that a story from about 15 years ago? At that time, it should have been before we bought this building. It was just around the beginning of the bubble, I think... We renovated it after that."
When Kuboyama spoke as if looking back on the past after guiding them to his room...
"You must have made a lot of money. But you shouldn't do too much unscrupulous business."
Kuroda spoke in a chiding tone.
"Don't say that. It's legal, for now."
Kuboyama gave a wry smile, then...
"By the way, is eel alright for dinner for both of you? There's a good eel shop nearby, so I'm thinking of ordering from there. Kuroda-han, you liked eel, didn't you?"
He asked.
"I don't mind, but what about Takeshita-san?"
"Normally I should decline, but I quite like eel."
Takeshita also readily accepted the proposal.
"Then, that's settled; I'll order the extra-special eel."
Saying that, Kuroda was ordering by phone.
And since they had purchased a box containing many disposable vinyl gloves at a 100-yen shop on the way back, the three of them each took out a pair and put them on. Takeshita took the tapes and the university notebook out of the plastic bag he had been carrying and placed them on the table of the reception set. Kuboyama also brought the letter from Motohashi that he had been keeping since Boyo Boen and a radio-cassette player from the back of the room and placed them on the table, and finally, the situation was 'standby OK'.
However, thinking they should first grasp the contents written in the university notebook, Takeshita decided to take a light look at the whole thing before listening to the tapes. There, necessary and important matters were recorded from the very beginning in a form halfway between memos and a diary.
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(Author's Note: Showa 62 is the year 1987)
S62.2.15
Got a call at home from Oyaji, whom I hadn't contacted since the expulsion. He said there was a story about an important job, and when I listened closely, he said there was someone he wanted me to 'bara' (kill) with a 'chaka' (handgun) for 5 million. It's true that I'm used to handling a chaka, but I've never shot it at a person, so I honestly told him that would be a problem. But he said it's okay because the target isn't a yakuza but a civilian, or something like that; I don't get it.
I said it wasn't a matter of that, but since long ago, I've been greatly indebted to him, and I also have a big debt to Oyaji because I messed up in a 'shabu' (meth) deal. I decided to give him an answer after thinking for two or three days and hung up for now.
S62.2.17
I thought about various things and couldn't sleep much for these two days, but unfortunately, I concluded that there was no option to refuse. For the time being, I decided to call and say I accepted, but since it would be bad if I missed hearing any necessary matters, I decided to record the conversation. Since a normal player can't listen to a recording of a phone, I went to Nipponbashi (Author's Note: Osaka's electric town) and bought an adapter and a machine that can record the phone. And called at night.
The person to 'bara' is, of all things, a housewife in Neyagawa. I wondered what kind of reason there could be to have to kill a housewife, but the reason the story came to Oyaji was that a company president who recently went bankrupt after being stripped of everything by that woman, who was a hostess when she was young, went crying to his acquaintance, Uncle Kanda (Author's Note: that is, Tatsukawa's sworn brother), who is now retired, saying he couldn't forgive her.
It was stupid to be specifically involved in such an extremely personal story, but if Oyaji asks me because it's someone Uncle Kanda was indebted to when he was young and he wants to do something for him, I have no choice. I have to pay back the loss from the shabu deal too. That said, it was good that he was happy with the acceptance. The handover of money seems like it'll be a lot of trouble, but to make sure there's no trail, it can't be helped...
S62.2.20
Immediately bought 10 at M-do and exchanged for 110 at T-kotto. I decided to use my own chaka, but since I haven't shot even for play for a while, I did some practice shooting in the forest in Nose (Author's Note: A town at the northern tip of Osaka Prefecture. It is a town rich in nature). No particular problems, but when it comes to shooting at a person, I have to think about various things again.
S62.3.3
From this day, I go out to Neyagawa by car and enter the check of the target's life pattern. It's a detached house, and monitoring is easy. Even so, she's certainly the type of woman that men like. Her makeup isn't that thick, but she's different from just an amateur woman. On the other hand, there seem to be two children who look like elementary school students, and my heart is heavy about that from now on. It's not like I have a direct grudge.
S62.3.10
I've mostly read the target's life pattern. All that's left is to find the timing and execute. The pattern of pretending to be a courier and doing it from close range is probably the most secure. Both the neighbors on both sides and the one in front have no one there during the day on weekdays, so that's a relief. All that's left is not to hesitate.
S62.3.15
Finally, I decided to execute tomorrow. I also contacted Oyaji. All that's left is to make up my mind.
S62.3.16
Finished without incident. I have no choice but to act as if that time never happened, but it'll probably never disappear for the rest of my life... It was already on the news immediately. And late at night, a thank-you call came from Oyaji, and it seemed the success fee would be prepared within a week. I'll follow the reverse pattern of the deposit to get the remaining 400. Once I get that, I'll go on a trip to Tamatsukuri Onsen or somewhere to clear my head.
S62.3.20
Got a contact from Oyaji that the success fee is ready, so I can exchange it anytime. Honestly, it's a help to get a large amount of money.
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