Chapter 166 - Name and Reality 89 {117 Alone} (277-279 Takeshita Goes to Osaka Prefectural Police)
Upon entering the room, Takeshita decided to report to Nishida immediately. Nishida, who had been waiting anxiously, naturally answered the phone right away.
"What are you doing? You're late! I was thinking of calling you myself! So, what happened?"
His tone was somewhat angry, but Nishida's impatient feelings seemed to have already moved toward Takeshita's new report. To meet those expectations, Takeshita began by talking about the contents of the tape and diary regarding the third case Motohashi had committed, which he couldn't talk about earlier, and explained everything to the end.
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"I see... With this, we can completely prove that Takigawa is involved in all of Motohashi's murders."
After Nishida spoke powerfully,
"Already, after the previous call, I've been in contact with the Osaka Prefectural Police, and apparently they've hurriedly called an emergency meeting over there too. The Hokkaido Prefectural Police (T/N: 'Doukei' - kocchi) have already gotten in touch with the Criminal Investigation Director, and that Director apparently spoke with the Prefectural Police's Criminal Investigation Director, but the meeting hasn't happened yet. However, now that it's come to this, should we also contact Hyogo (Prefectural Police) or the Main Office (Metropolitan Police Department) who are involved in the other cases from here? Well, it might be better to leave that to the Prefectural Police..."
He spoke relatively slowly while considering.
"Except for Sada's case, they were being handled collectively as wide-area cases, so I think you can leave those to the Prefectural Police."
Takeshita gave that advice, but,
"Oh right! I accidentally forgot something important! I want to make it so that the process of seizing this tape and diary is not revealed at all?"
He suddenly asked Nishida as if he had just remembered.
"Eh? Wait a minute!? If that's the case, it might cause various problems with the adoption of evidence in court!"
Nishida straight-up conveyed the expected concerns. If he was just told "not to reveal the process" without explaining the intent, it was natural that even Nishida, who knew Takeshita well and understood what kind of person he was, couldn't just accept it.
"Of course I know that without being told, but there's a reason I absolutely want to do it! In the end, I'm thinking of using the fact that I'm a reporter to get through it by protecting my sources."
"Protection of sources? Are we suddenly talking about freedom of the press again? But isn't that quite delicate?"
"Well, whether it will be completely recognized is certainly delicate. Especially in the case of a criminal case... However, this matter is not about who the culprit is, but about concealing the acquisition route of the evidence, so I think we can manage somehow..."
Takeshita prefaced it that way, and then, as he had done with Kuroda and Kuboyama, he explained in detail the speculation about the circumstances under which this "exposure" by Motohashi after his death was carried out and with what thoughts of Motohashi, including parts Nishida already understood to some extent. He particularly emphasized that it was Motohashi's dying wish not to put those two in danger by making their involvement public.
From Takeshita's explanation, it had become possible for Nishida to reflect on the strength of the relationship between Motohashi, Kuroda, and Kuboyama, and the thoughts hidden in the letter, albeit roughly. Needless to say, precisely because Nishida himself had a direct exchange with Motohashi seven years ago, he could easily understand why Motohashi had come to sell out Takigawa now.
"I see... I understand the reason... However, whether that's permissible in court is beyond my discretion... That said, if Takeshita is going to take responsibility as an individual in the end, honestly, I can only watch over you. Fortunately, the evidentiary power of the evidence itself, combined with Takigawa's voiceprint, the contents of the diary, and Motohashi's fingerprints that are likely attached to it, shouldn't be a problem, so if the admissibility (Author's Note: Meaning whether the evidence is adopted in court. It is different from 'probative value of evidence,' which means whether it is possible to presume the facts based on the evidence) seems like it can be managed with 'protection of sources,' then in the end, I don't think there will be a problem with proving guilt in court... That said, I think you know there's a possibility you'll be called to court yourself and asked various things about the acquisition route, so please be prepared. Even so, I hope they recognize it..."
Nishida pointed out that if Takeshita were to stick to his method, Takeshita's responsibility would be quite large regarding whether it would be adopted as evidence in court, but at the same time, it was also a fact that he sincerely hoped that intention would be respected.
"That can't be helped, or rather, I'm prepared for it, but please tell the Prefectural Police (T/N: 'acchi' - over there) as well, Nishida-san. I'm sorry for saying various selfish things."
Takeshita asked politely.
"I understand about that matter. But there's no need for you to apologize! We're the ones causing much more trouble! This time too, without Takeshita, we definitely wouldn't have been able to get such results. This is just a simple fact..."
Nishida told the apologetic Takeshita that, but as he put into words, the recovery of these important pieces of evidence would not have been possible without Takeshita's existence. In the first place, there was a high probability that they wouldn't even have been able to decipher the code that arrived late from Motohashi.
"When you say that, it really helps me out too."
"Listen, when you say something like that, I'm the one who's troubled! In the spring of '96, the reason you ended up quitting, though you didn't put it into words, was clearly because you had great dissatisfaction with the way the organization (T/N: 'soshiki' - police) did things, right? Because you couldn't investigate as you wanted after yielding to pressure, in the end... I can only think that wanting to become a newspaper reporter was a secondary reason. At that time, while thinking it couldn't be helped, I, for my part, felt strongly as a supervisor about having made you feel that way... I think Sawai-san (Section Chief) felt the same. That's why I have no right or reason to be thanked by you. Whether I've been able to repay a bit of that debt from back then now... It's only about that much."
Nishida felt like hitting Takeshita with his heated feelings in response to his words.
"That's not right, Nishida-san! In the end, I was the one who ran away! Giving up on changing things from the inside... It just happened that the timing for changing jobs to a newspaper reporter matched, so I just used that as an excuse to run away. But the regret of the investigation being left half-finished, as I said before, was something I had been carrying all along on the other hand, after all... This investigation in Osaka... It's a bit much to call it an investigation when I don't even have investigative authority, but with that, I feel like I've been able to do almost everything I can as a reporter now, and I'm satisfied that my past regrets have been considerably resolved. In that sense, from the bottom of my heart, I'm grateful that Nishida-san requested me to 'go to Osaka' this time."
What Takeshita said was by no means just a formal social pleasantry in response to Nishida's apology, or rather, it was likely almost his true feelings. That was fully conveyed to Nishida as well. And it was inevitable that Nishida himself was also saved by those words.
With this, the investigation had not concluded, and there were still many things remaining. However, at the very least, being able to let Takeshita do everything he could for now was a result enough for Nishida to resolve his lingering regrets from '95. For both of them, it was also the moment when that incomplete investigation from '95, which had remained stuck in their hearts, finally reached a turning point.
Nishida, who unintentionally felt a lump in his throat and was at a loss for the next words to say, said,
"Anyway, I understand that matter... I'll tell the Prefectural Police too. In the first place, there's no way the police can make it public that they instructed a newspaper reporter to investigate! Come to think of it, it's more convenient for us if it's said that Takeshita investigated independently through reporter channels and brought it to the police."
He said and laughed.
"Certainly, now that you mention it, that would be bad, wouldn't it?"
Takeshita was also wryly smiling upon hearing that, but perhaps both of them vaguely realized that the time-delayed exposure orchestrated by Motohashi had not only filled the gap in the seven-year investigation but had also succeeded in momentarily rewinding the changes in their respective environments.
"Anyway, we can't talk until contact comes from the Prefectural Police side, but at this rate, it feels like it'll be late at night, so I think it'll be quite late before I can give Takeshita instructions for tomorrow's actions. Depending on the situation, it might even be tomorrow morning."
Nishida's statement was not a threat, but rather because it was expected that the Osaka Prefectural Police would be quite confused, as it was a bolt from the blue even more so than for Nishida and the others.
"I'm fine whenever, but if it's past 1:00 AM, please make the contact in the morning. If I listen while sleepy, I'm likely to forget important things. I'll be up before 7:00."
Takeshita made that request, and Nishida also supported it as the optimal choice, saying,
"As expected, if the date changes, it would be better to do it tomorrow morning."
After finishing the conversation, to wash away today's fatigue, Takeshita soaked in the bathtub instead of taking a shower, and while relaxing, he looked back on today's events. It was only one day, but there was no doubt it was a very dense day in Takeshita's life.
And now, regardless of whether Motohashi was in heaven or hell, he wondered how he would evaluate Takeshita's "work" today. Would he be satisfied that he acted as he thought, or would he be furious that he had done something unnecessary, or would he be smiling wryly, or would he be happy or disappointed that Takeshita had missed something...
However, whatever Motohashi's impressions of the performance were, he could certainly infer one emotion Motohashi would be holding. That was the figure of Motohashi, a bit boastful toward Takeshita, saying, "Even a monster like me has decent acquaintances."
Certainly, both Kuroda and Kuboyama are people with quite strong quirks, but there is no doubt they were irreplaceable, good comrades for Motohashi. If he could convey something of Motohashi's feelings for those comrades as a substitute for an Itako, even if it were incomplete, or even if he were used as a convenient errand boy by Motohashi, setting aside the "contest" with Motohashi, Takeshita was driven by a refreshing feeling.
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In the end, Nishida's concern came true, and contact from the Prefectural Police came after the date had already changed, past 1:00 AM on October 7th. Gratitude was conveyed from the Prefectural Police, but regarding the point that the side that needed to interrogate Takigawa first was the Hokkaido Prefectural Police (T/N: 'Doukei' - meaning the murder of Sada Minoru is closest to the statute of limitations), it seemed to be a problem after all.
After arresting Takigawa, whether to hand Takigawa over to the Hokkaido side first, or to keep him in custody in Osaka and have the Hokkaido side come out to interrogate him, would require consultation between the Hokkaido and Osaka police.
Nishida naturally had no authority to decide on this, and there was nothing to do but leave it to the upper management. More than that, the problem was what to do about the process by which the evidence came to light. When he spoke of Takeshita's proposal to Murono, the Section 1 Head of the Osaka Prefectural Police who was the person on the phone, the Osaka Prefectural Police side proposed that it would be better to have a flow where the Prefectural Police investigators secured the evidence, so as not to cause trouble for Takeshita.
However, if this happened, the "credit" for securing the evidence would be set arbitrarily on the Osaka Prefectural Police side rather than on Takeshita, who is a civilian, and while he would be fine with giving it to Takeshita, Nishida inwardly felt dissatisfied that it was being "stolen."
However, even so, if it meant avoiding involving Takeshita in unnecessary trouble, now that the involvement of Oshima Kaiji and Takigawa in the murder of Sada Minoru had become clear, which was the most important thing, he came to hold the thought of "let them have the head and the tail," and reluctantly gave his consent. The problem was whether Takeshita could be satisfied, but based on what he heard from Takeshita this time, he was certain that he would indeed be satisfied, considering Kuroda and Kuboyama.
After daybreak, he contacted Takeshita at exactly 7:00 and informed him of the decision regarding the evidence, and as expected, he did not voice any particular complaints and accepted it more quickly than expected. It seemed he recognized that the most important thing was to follow Motohashi's dying wish. However, he told Nishida that whether he would ultimately be okay with it depended on the fabricated story of the acquisition route proposed by the Prefectural Police.
On top of that, Nishida instructed Takeshita to bring the evidence to the Criminal Investigation Department of the Osaka Prefectural Police before noon to have it scrutinized. And he gave him the contact information for Murono, the Section 1 Head, who would be in charge of this matter. He was the person to contact first when going to the Prefectural Police.
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When Takeshita contacted Murono directly at 10:30 AM, as expected, he was requested to bring the evidence to the Prefectural Police headquarters before 12:00, so Takeshita hailed a taxi and headed for the Osaka Prefectural Police.
Since the Section Chief himself would be meeting him in the lobby near the reception on the first floor of the building, he looked around, and a man with a familiar face came into his field of vision. And at that moment, Takeshita realized that Murono was the person who had conducted the interrogation of Motohashi together with him as a Team Leader of the Osaka Prefectural Police's Section 1 back in '95.
Murono, on the other hand, showed a surprised expression immediately after spotting Takeshita and gradually approached. Then,
"Um, I received word from the Hokkaido police that a newspaper reporter named Mr. Takeshita would be coming... That's you, right?"
He asked suspiciously. He probably couldn't figure out how to understand the point that Takeshita, who was a detective back then, had appeared as a newspaper reporter.
"You were a great help seven years ago."
Since Takeshita started with that,
"Ah! I knew it, it's you, isn't it!? So, you really became a reporter?"
He confirmed once again.
"Well, I'm sure you were surprised. In fact, I retired from the Hokkaido police in the spring of the following year and changed jobs to a newspaper reporter. This time, because Nishida couldn't leave Sapporo, and the one who knows the case well is me, who is now an outsider, I was dispatched here specially, or rather, secretly... And, through one thing and another, I succeeded in obtaining the evidence of the involvement of Takigawa and Oshima Kaiji that Motohashi left behind."
"I see! Setting aside that 'one thing and another,' I couldn't understand why a newspaper reporter was involved in the Hokkaido police's investigation, but if it was Mr. Takeshita, formerly of the Hokkaido police, I can understand that point. Oh, wait a minute! That means the Assistant Section Chief Nishida of the Hokkaido police I was talking to earlier is the Nishida from back then?"
While thinking, "Shouldn't you have noticed sooner?"
"Of course he is. That said, I don't think Nishida realized that Section Chief Murono was the Team Leader Murono from back then either."
Takeshita said that and laughed.