Chapter 161 - Name and Reality 84 {112 Solo} (265-267 Takeshita's Psychological Speculation of Motohashi 4)
"Before going to meet Kuroda-san, I had also thought, 'If he was going to use a coded message anyway, wouldn't it have been better to directly include where Kuroda-san could be met in the code of the letter sent to us?' In other words, I thought lightly that perhaps he had made it so we had to ask Kuboyama-san, who knew the location, because coding the location itself would be too much trouble. However, if we take it that Motohashi-san wanted to thoroughly conceal information about Kuroda-san, it's self-evident that the location was something to be avoided as much as, or more than, the name. Going through his younger brother figure Kuboyama-san, whom he trusted to be tight-lipped, was far safer than directly describing the location, even in code. This point was a terrible misunderstanding on my part now... When I voiced such a shallow thought mixed with complaints while heading to Kawachinagano with Kuboyama-san, Kuboyama-san lightly denied it, saying it probably wasn't for a reason as simple as it being troublesome, and he was exactly right."
Takeshita bowed his head to Kuboyama in a truly apologetic manner.
"Even if you say that, it's not like I specifically knew the reason... It was just a hunch based on Aniki's temperament."
Kuboyama said and gave a wry smile.
"However, from what we've seen so far, Kuboyama is the only one given a heavy responsibility; it's a losing role. Shouldn't Yukio have thought about him a bit more, even if he was a younger brother figure?"
Kuroda was much calmer at this stage than when they met, but he spoke thus to Kuboyama beside him.
In fact, if the code had been deciphered after leaking and the identity of the person named Tadano was unknown, there would have been a sufficient possibility that harm would have been inflicted on Kuboyama, whose name was out, to make him talk.
"No, no. I was greatly taken care of by Aniki, so something like this is rather an honor! I am what I am today thanks to Aniki... It also means I was trusted as a man, even if it was with the expectation of sacrifice!"
Kuboyama puffed out his chest, saying it was rather a pleasure.
However, Takeshita showed a skeptical view of this.
"No, while it's true that Motohashi-san didn't view Kuboyama-san as an object to be protected as much as Kuroda-san, I think it's quite wrong to say he didn't consider Kuboyama-san's safety."
"There's more?!"
Since Takeshita began to speak again, Kuboyama said that while leaning forward as if to stop him, but it didn't seem like he found it troublesome to listen; to Takeshita, it looked like he was just making a formal retort in line with Kansai culture. Or perhaps there was embarrassment since the talk had turned to him.
"First, as can be easily seen, even in the letter that was in the grave, he gives very careful advice to ensure that Kuboyama-san isn't identified as the one who exposed it during the accusation."
"Now that you mention it, that's true. He persistently tells him to be careful about fingerprints."
Kuroda also admitted it.
"But, and it's not my place to say this, for example, in the letter delivered to them and the letter addressed to me, my name was clearly there at the 'surface' stage, wasn't it? It was on the envelope too... Sure, since the true meaning was hidden in code, the surface meaning itself wasn't a problem, but if the code were deciphered, there's a possibility I'd suffer some damage, right? Just to be clear, I have no intention of complaining to Aniki about that!"
Kuboyama turned a quite skeptical gaze toward Takeshita, adding a note that he didn't want to say something pathetic regarding trust between men.
"That's true. That might be the case... However, if this letter falls into the hands of dangerous people—even if Kuboyama-san's name were hidden in the code but clearly stated in the main text, and even if the code weren't deciphered—that in itself carries a great risk."
"Takeshita-han! I don't quite understand what you mean?"
At Takeshita's suggestive way of speaking, Kuboyama asked somewhat irritably.
"Kuboyama-san! You know that the one entrusted with the letters from Motohashi-san addressed to you and to us was the Prison Chaplain, Chief Priest Mizuno, don't you?"
"Of course, I received them directly from that monk. Naturally!"
Kuboyama leaned back against the sofa's backrest as if to say, 'Don't tell me things I already know.'
"This depends on where the letter might leak, but for example, what if it was just before Chief Priest Mizuno was to hand it to Kuboyama-san? Even if the meaning of the code wasn't immediately deciphered, if the side pursuing it thought there was some 'meaning' to it, the Chief Priest might have been in some danger if he resisted halfway due to the trust relationship of being directly entrusted by Motohashi-san, though it would have been fine if he just blurted out who he was going to deliver it to. After all, Motohashi-san had been suspicious of the Osaka and Hyogo police for a long time, and it wouldn't be strange for him to fear there were spy-like figures related to the detention center. If Motohashi-san tried to have a Prison Chaplain send out a letter that wasn't even to his family after his death, wouldn't it be natural for those people to check it immediately? So, if Kuboyama-san's name and address were clearly stated on the envelope and in the text itself, wouldn't the possibility of inflicting harm on the Chief Priest just to find that out almost disappear? I think it's not strange to assume he had the aim of ensuring Chief Priest Mizuno's safety through that."
In response to such speculation from Takeshita,
"Hmm. ...Now that you mention it, as a possibility, would it be so..."
Kuboyama said, and while it didn't seem like he was perfectly convinced, he seemed to have reached a level where he could grudgingly accept it.
"That in itself doesn't change the risk of harm to Kuboyama-san at all in the end, but I think it significantly reduces the possibility of involving Chief Priest Mizuno, who is a religious figure, originally unrelated, and who did him a favor by listening to his request."
"It's a minimum consideration for the Chief Priest who took care of him and whom he intended to ask a favor of."
Kuroda accepted Takeshita's explanation.
However, toward Kuboyama, who still didn't seem completely satisfied,
"In the first place, you understand that Motohashi-san intended for Kuboyama-san to be the original accuser, right?"
Takeshita asked.
"Well, as far as the letter in the grave goes, there's nothing else it could be, right?"
"Then why did he change it? Let's think about that! Motohashi-san grasped that in Kansai... or rather, in Japan might be more accurate, there are many people who are 'katagi' on the surface but are secretly cooperating with the Aoi-ikka. That's why he was listing points of caution for when Kuboyama-san made the accusation, right? However, after Motohashi-san made up his mind to take revenge on Takigawa and the others, he changed the original plan."
"Wasn't that because he thought he could trust your passion for the investigation?"
Kuboyama repeated what he said earlier.
"Well, there must have been such a premise. However, while we have the aspect of being detectives skilled in criminal investigation, if Motohashi-san were to have a feeling... no, a conviction that he could trust someone as a person based on years of association, it's Kuboyama-san! Aside from being acquainted with Kuroda-san, to put it in the extreme, the only one Motohashi-san could believe would never talk about Kuroda-san even at the risk of his life is Kuboyama-san! But he dared to change it to us. And through the troublesome method of having us meet Kuroda-san via Kuboyama-san, including the creation of extra codes..."
Takeshita said that much, and after a moment's pause,
"If Kuboyama-san were to make the accusation himself, given the risks involved, he must have thought he could reduce the danger to Kuboyama-san by using us, the Hokkaido detectives, as tools for the accusation. And I believe he was testing us back in '95 to see if we could be used as tools and if we were at least minimally trustworthy. As a result, he probably thought we could manage somehow."
He stated decisively.
Incidentally, the thought that "since an amateur like Kuboyama might mess up, it was all the more reason"—which could be taken as mocking Kuboyama in a sense—had also crossed Takeshita's mind as a reason, but he felt it would be tactless to point that out here, so he only spoke the parts that were pleasant to the ear.
Also, while he had interpreted Motohashi's "probing" with Takeshita and the others back then as being because Motohashi was enjoying it like a game, he now thought it was more likely that it was solely for the purpose of a "test," or that such a purpose made up the majority of it.
Immediately after hearing these words, as if finally accepting his Aniki-bun's consideration, Kuboyama turned his face slightly toward the ceiling as if to endure something welling up. And for about ten seconds, he pressed the inner corners of his eyes. However, perhaps there was also the embarrassment of a man showing tears in front of others; he seemed to switch his feelings, lowered his face relatively quickly, and as if nothing had happened,
"You certainly have a way with words,"
He laughed forcedly.
"Hmm... So it turns out he was properly thinking about his younger brother figure too... That's where he differs from Takigawa. Conversely, it was the end of Yukio's luck that he couldn't see through that part of Takigawa sooner..."
Kuroda, at this moment, spoke in a philosophical way rather than blaming his old friend.
"However, there was one thing left that I didn't quite understand. As I said earlier, if he wanted to thoroughly keep Kuroda-san's existence secret, why did Motohashi-san plot to have us, who are like outsiders, meet Kuroda-san directly through Kuboyama-san? To the point of using the troublesome method of going through Kuboyama-san instead of using code to prevent Kuroda-san's address from leaking elsewhere... To be honest, I didn't understand it well until just now, but now I have a rough speculation."
After saying that, he cleared his throat lightly and began to speak the rest.
"Before meeting Kuroda-san, I was talking with Kuboyama-san this morning, and in the letter from Motohashi-san to Kuboyama-san, he had notified him in code beforehand that we would visit Kuboyama-san to ask about 'Tadano,' namely Kuroda-san. Regarding this letter, I also spoke roughly to Kuroda-san about it in the car to Kobe... And I think it also had the meaning of implicitly making Kuboyama-san think that as long as the question about 'Tadano' didn't come from our mouths, he shouldn't let us meet Kuroda-san, even if either Nishida or myself, or both, came. In other words, it meant that if we hadn't been able to read the code, we weren't worth meeting. Of course, if the person who came to see Kuboyama-san was someone other than us, he would never have let them meet him."
He cast his gaze toward Kuboyama, and Kuboyama nodded silently in response.
"On the other hand, in the letter that came to us, the story about Hinako-san, which Kuboyama-san didn't know, was written as a hint. I also briefly explained this to Kuroda-san earlier... And when I checked with Kuboyama-san about it, he said he knew nothing about it at all. If you think about this for a bit, don't you reach this conclusion? That is, he wanted us to ask Kuroda-san himself directly... Of course, Kuboyama-san seems to have understood it that way too. Well, I think anyone would naturally follow that flow, so I think it was almost inevitable that I would have Kuboyama-san take me to Kuroda-san. It's clear that this was Motohashi-san's intention. I confirmed this with Kuboyama-san earlier, and Kuboyama-san should have understood it too."
"That's right,"
Kuboyama chimed in immediately.
"However, a point where the logic doesn't hold up appears there. That's the doubt I mentioned earlier. If he were to be thorough about the secrecy of all information regarding Kuroda-san, I think the method I'm about to say would have been much better."
Takeshita straightened his posture once to take a pause.
"Motohashi-san first instructs Kuboyama-san in the letter to ask Kuroda-san about Hinako-san and the location of her grave before our visit to Osaka. Then, wouldn't it actually be the safest method for Kuboyama-san to indirectly answer our questions when we visited Osaka and then take us to Kobe? Simply put, shouldn't Motohashi-san have taken a way where Kuroda-san wouldn't have to face anyone other than Kuboyama-san? That's what I mean. Even if we are detectives, our level of trust is absolutely inferior to Kuboyama-san's. If I were Motohashi-san, I would definitely do that!"
Takeshita was certain of this idea.
"I see! Certainly, it's as Takeshita-han says. However, that was impossible. Because I was being rejected by Kuroda-han..."
The moment Kuboyama responded and said that, Takeshita reacted as if he were about to stand up from the sofa, trying to reveal the answer as if this was the moment.
"That's it! That's it! Motohashi-san must have clearly recognized that Kuroda-san would reject Kuboyama-san when he came to see him, at the point he was writing the letters to Kuboyama-san and us to be sent after his death... or rather, it might have been at the stage he confessed his various murders, but at the latest, by the time he was writing the letters!"
However, immediately after that, he seemed to come to his senses, sat back deep into the sofa, took a breath, and tried to continue calmly.
"As long as I look at Kuroda-san's words and actions since meeting you at the shop in Kawachinagano today until now, the idea that no matter how much of a best friend or old friend he was, Motohashi-san's killing of people is absolutely unforgivable... well, now that you know Motohashi-san's position and thoughts to some extent, your feelings might be wavering, but it's almost thorough, isn't it?"
Kuroda, who was asked in that way by Takeshita, said,
"Well, as expected, killing people is the one thing you can't forgive no matter what! Sure, it's true that the bad deeds he piled up as a yakuza are also unforgivable, but the dimension is too different... I'm filled with a feeling of helplessness, including for myself who couldn't stop it!"
He poured out his feelings with force at this moment.
In response,
"Even though he continued to be rejected for visits at the detention center by Motohashi-san, what kind of attitude would Kuroda-san—who was active believing in his innocence—take if Motohashi-san suddenly overturned his previous claims and began to confess to the crimes... After he decided to execute the strategy, didn't Motohashi-san, who knew Kuroda-san's temperament inside out from long ago, think about it again? In other words, he predicted that he would emotionally reject Kuboyama-san. Naturally, at the stage of spring '91 when he buried the evidence in the grave, it would have been impossible to read the development that far... If so, he read that even if Kuboyama-san, who was also Motohashi-san's younger brother figure, went to see him afterward, he wouldn't be taken seriously. In that case, he worked out a method to have another person intervene to get Kuroda-san to regain some level of composure. I suspect that was also the reason why we were made to meet Kuroda-san directly."
Takeshita explained.
As if that weren't enough, Takeshita continued,
"In this accusation seven years after the investigation and five years after the execution, were we assigned the role of Kuboyama-san's substitute for reasons other than the trust in our obsession with the investigation or ensuring Kuboyama-san's safety? I thought so! In addition, wasn't the fact that he even gave instructions in code to the dutiful Kuboyama-san to visit Kuroda-san immediately after the execution, saying 'Give my regards to Tadano too,' meant to have him experience it beforehand?"
He revealed a new deduction.
"What do you mean by experiencing it beforehand?"
When Kuboyama took the bait,
"In other words, with the coded instruction 'Regards to Tadano too,' Motohashi-san must have thought that the dutiful Kuboyama-san would surely go to greet Kuroda-san once. And if he visited to greet him after the execution, and Kuroda-san—who was shocked by the confession and reminded of various things by Kuboyama-san, the former yakuza who used to hang around with Motohashi-san—rejected him, and if Kuboyama-san had that experience, then when we appeared and he finally had to take us to Kuroda-san, he would surely stay in the background as a supporting player without standing at the forefront to avoid making waves, right? Through that, it was Motohashi-san's read that we would be able to reach Hinako-san's grave safely. In fact, Kuboyama-san, you did that at first, didn't you? And Kuroda-san actually rejected you."
"That's certainly true!"
Kuboyama slapped his knee and shouted with delight that the story had a consistent thread.
"However, there was a miscalculation for Motohashi-san. It's the fact that I, who came from Hokkaido as Nishida's proxy, had already quit being a detective. If I were a detective, not just a third party, Kuroda-san would have had no choice but to deal with me, but as a newspaper reporter, there was no particular need to deal with me. And after I was ignored, the situation where Kuroda-san got angry and came out to deal with us because Kuboyama-san stood at the forefront was exactly the opposite of what was expected. Actually, at that time, I was prepared for the situation to worsen, thinking 'This person has done something reckless,' but what happened was the exact opposite. In that sense, I can be said to have made the same miscalculation as Motohashi-san. Of course, if I were a detective, I think it's no mistake that it would have been safer for me to stand at the forefront relatively... If I had come as a detective, Kuroda-san, wouldn't you have normally come out from the start and listened to our story?"
When Takeshita asked Kuroda that,
"In such a case, I'd have no choice but to listen, even if reluctantly..."
He nodded.
And then,
"I wasn't a detective, but after we were face-to-face, it's actually true that I dealt with you to some extent because you, a stranger named Takeshita-san, were there... Even if I was furious. I don't think I could have talked to Kuboyama one-on-one in that state. I'm not usually like that, but when there's something I absolutely can't forgive, I'm the type whose blood easily rushes to the head... Although I rarely raised a hand, we used to have shouting matches all the time as kids. But when a friend got between us, I could become a bit calmer. ...Maybe Yukio was thinking about that kind of thing..."
Kuroda added his own speculation. Kuroda seemed to have some inkling regarding Motohashi's "read" from the childhood days they spent together.