Chapter 167 - Name and Reality 90 {118 Alone} (282-284 Takeshita Returns to Sapporo)
Afterwards, while the two of them briefly shared memories of '95, they took the elevator to the reception room of Section 1. According to the talk then, Murono had once gone out to a local station of the Prefectural Police and had returned to the Osaka Prefectural Police Headquarters three years ago. It's one of the common promotion routes. And he had been performing his duties as the Section 1 Head of the Prefectural Police since this year.
In the reception room, Kagawa, the Organized Crime Department Head of the Osaka Prefectural Police, Imada, the Criminal Investigation Director, and Hayama, the Forensics Section Chief, were waiting. After greetings, he immediately submitted the evidence to Hayama and asked for its analysis and appraisal.
Imada expressed words of gratitude for the cooperation in the investigation, and at the same time, they introduced themselves to each other. Takeshita was aware that a newspaper reporter cooperating in an investigation made him a somewhat difficult person to deal with even if he were on the police side, so he needed to properly explain to the others that he had been pursuing Motohashi's murders as a detective in the past. Murono also reinforced the story from the side, as he knew the Takeshita of old.
On the other hand, the Prefectural Police side seemed to be curious about what route he used to get the evidence. However, Takeshita also hesitated to tell the truth about that, so he flatly refused, citing it as a matter of reporting. However, regarding that, Director Imada started saying exactly what Takeshita had heard from Nishida in advance.
"Actually, instead of the method proposed by the Hokkaido police and Mr. Takeshita, we would like to make it so that we accidentally discovered the evidence. If the reason is 'protection of sources' as freedom of the press, it might lead to troublesome things in court after all... Concealing a culprit is generally not permitted in criminal cases even if it's related to freedom of the press, according to the interpretation in judicial precedents, and even in the case of a simple acquisition route of evidence like this time, it's quite delicate... To be honest, I can't say it 'won't be recognized,' but I can't say it's 'okay' either. It's too unstable, and I think there will probably be a dispute even at the prosecution stage, so if possible, we want to exclude such delicate elements in advance."
For the Osaka Prefectural Police, even from the perspective of "earning points," it was quite a convenient story, so Imada was quite apologetic, but Takeshita also needed to hear in detail in advance about exactly how they were going to do it.
"Regarding that, since I already can't say how I obtained it, I'm not in a position to criticize others, but on your end, what kind of story setting do you intend to use?"
Takeshita asked what kind of "script" the other party was drawing.
"Well, we're thinking of making it so that the landlord of the rental mansion where Motohashi originally lived had been keeping it without knowing and had accidentally forgotten about it for a long time."
"But have you obtained the landlord's consent?"
Takeshita raised a question, but since it was equivalent to a "layman" giving, so to speak, "false testimony," it was natural that he wanted to confirm the reason.
"We asked him based on the fact that the landlord had allowed illegal Chinese residents to move in while knowing about it."
Imada leaked that with a wry smile, but if this were true, it was a disguise of the evidence acquisition route using a method close to intimidation or coercion. Certainly, the method Takeshita had thought of was a disguise, but this one had another problem added to it.
He was the one who asked, but he didn't know why he had exposed such an obviously illegal thing to an "outsider" like Takeshita. If he had to say, it might have been words that came out of a sense of being one of their own, due to the recognition of him as a former detective despite being a newspaper reporter. To be honest, considering Takeshita's original duties, this was the kind of story he shouldn't remain silent about, but it was also true that the important thing now was the safety of Kuroda and Kuboyama and the respect for Motohashi's dying wish, which he had earnestly prayed for.
Takeshita was in a quite complicated state of mind, but he dared to swallow it and decided to accept the Prefectural Police's proposal. The Prefectural Police side took it as a matter of course, but for Takeshita, it goes without saying that it was a quite bitter decision both in terms of his own way of thinking and in terms of ethics as a newspaper reporter.
He was driven by the urge to say a word of complaint throughout this meeting, but each time, he chanted in his mind like a prayer the words about the method of deciphering the code Motohashi wrote to Kuboyama: "If you stick to a lie, it becomes the truth."
Of course, Takeshita didn't know for sure to what extent that hint was Motohashi's true feelings, or whether it only had meaning as a deciphering method, but for him now, regardless of such things, they were words that resonated strongly.
Takeshita then briefly responded to the Prefectural Police's hearing, and since he was told to stay in Osaka until noon the next day just in case, he ended up staying at a business hotel prepared by the Prefectural Police.
This day was also the day of the indictment for Oshima Kaiji's "Kitami Kyoryitsu Hospital Shooting Murder Case," but due to the sudden exposure by Motohashi, even the big news of the discovery of the involvement of the Aoi-ikka's Don and Oshima in the murder of Sada Minoru had jumped in the previous night, so the Hokkaido Prefectural Police Headquarters and the Kitami Regional Headquarters were in a quite chaotic situation.
While handling the media for Oshima's indictment, behind the scenes, they were dealing with the decisive evidence of involvement in the murder of Sada Minoru that had suddenly surfaced, as well as consultations for Takigawa's arrest; Nishida and Yoshimura were in a situation where the word "hectic" was a perfect fit.
As a result of consultations between top-level investigators from not only the Hokkaido and Osaka police but also the National Police Agency and Metropolitan Police Department in Tokyo, and the Hyogo Prefectural Police, for the time being, a direction had emerged to prioritize the Sada Minoru murder case, for which the statute of limitations was approaching. Naturally, they seemed to be considering the intentions of Nishida, who could be called the shadow investigation leader on the Hokkaido side in this series of investigations, as a certain level of influence.
However, setting aside Oshima who was in custody here, whether to keep the person who had reigned as the "Don" of a top-level designated organized crime group for over 25 years in Osaka first or take him to Sapporo seemed to be a subject of much dispute, and it seems they couldn't reach a conclusion on the spot.
In the evening, they decided to carry over the consultation, including when to make the arrest, to the following day or later, and even though he was in Sapporo and not directly participating, Nishida's efforts were all in vain, so to speak.
However, just around that time, the digitized recording data of Motohashi and the image data of the notebook used as a diary regarding the murder of Sada Minoru had been sent as email attachments from the Prefectural Police and were also delivered to Nishida and the others in Sapporo and the investigation headquarters in Kitami. Ultimately, the "originals" should be sent to the Hokkaido side, but for now, they have to make do with that. Needless to say, the investigation teams in Sapporo and Kitami immediately checked the contents and were able to once again firmly grasp how the incident occurred and reached its conclusion.
The contents were exactly as Takeshita had told Nishida, and Nishida was certain that the prosecution of Takigawa as a co-principal in the conspiracy for murder would be no problem at all. However, for Oshima Kaiji, who was in the eye of the storm, it would be difficult to indict him directly for murder with just this. After all, a confession from either Takigawa, Oshima, or Secretary Nakagawa would probably be necessary. However, he didn't think Takigawa, a professional in that world, or Nakagawa, a loyal retainer, would go out of their way to confess, and rather, it seemed more likely that Oshima himself would confess.
"While it's not like we're pressed for time, there are time constraints, so I'd like to break through somewhere somehow."
Yoshimura also seemed to be thinking, but Nishida suddenly thought of something and decided to call the Kitami Regional Headquarters. And he called for Team Leader Onga on the phone.
"It's Nishida, how are things over there?"
He asked about the other's situation as a formality.
"Regarding the data sent from the Prefectural Police, I've just finished listening to it, and I plan to interrogate Nakagawa once more tomorrow or later. That said, his loyalty to Oshima is the real deal, so well, he probably won't talk."
Onga was also sounding resigned.
"But since there's physical evidence, we can certainly prove that Nakagawa and Motohashi met inside Kitami Station, so there's no need to worry about that point, right?"
"Yeah, that point. But it's the matter of Oshima's killing, right? That's the problem..."
The older subordinate hesitated to say that, but Nishida didn't want to talk about that now; he had more of another errand and had only talked about the data that arrived today as a preface. Therefore, Nishida said,
"We'll manage that from now on. Besides, in the worst case, even if we can't indict him for the murder of Sada Minoru, regarding Nakagawa's delivery of the reward to Motohashi, it'll be fine to go with aiding and abetting murder, so I think we can somehow manage the solicitation for that from the relationship between the two, Oshima and Nakagawa."
After saying that, he ended that talk there and requested that a certain item be sent to Sapporo immediately.
Yoshimura, who had been listening to the whole sequence, said,
"There was such a thing, wasn't there... But will it be effective? I can only think it's almost meaningless. In the first place, the origin itself is quite ambiguous, right? Hmm."
He voiced his doubt while looking at Nishida, then, perhaps thinking he had said too much, he stopped speaking further with his lips pressed firmly together. He probably had complaints, but he couldn't think of any other breakthrough either.
"That's true, but... But I feel like if I don't play the cards I can play first, I won't make it in time... I think there's almost no point in saving them now. If they can't be used, it's better to know the result immediately."
Saying that, as if a bit restless, Nishida lightly stamped his foot on the floor. Nishida himself was not just half-doubting how effective it would be; to be honest, he had almost no confidence.
※※※※※※※
Tuesday, October 8th, before noon. With the National Police Agency also involved in the consultation between the Osaka Prefectural Police, Hokkaido Prefectural Police, and Metropolitan Police Department, the arrest of Takigawa was finally decided for the early morning of Thursday, October 10th. Originally, it was a priority to arrest him for the Sada murder, for which the statute of limitations was approaching at the end of the year. However, since the opponent was who he was, it was predicted that there would be considerable resistance and confusion at the time of arrest, so in the end, considering the point of anti-organized crime measures to the maximum, it was decided that the Osaka Prefectural Police, who were used to it, would arrest him for the first murder in the series of murders by Motohashi.
Certainly, the statute of limitations for the Sada case was approaching, but considering that detention is at most 20 days, or 23 days including the arrest (Author's Note: In practice, it seems that in most cases, it's 1 day for arrest, request for detention the next day, detention from the day after that, and the first day of the detention request is also counted as a detention day, so the true maximum is 22 days, and in normal maximum cases, it's 21 days. This setting is usually used in this novel as well), even if they interrogated him for the first murder first, it wouldn't directly affect the interrogation for the Sada case.
Naturally, it was also possible to extend Takigawa's detention by building a case for another matter with the aim of substantially extending this interrogation, and in that case, there was a possibility it would affect the statute of limitations for the interrogation regarding the Sada murder in various ways. However, regarding the first murder of the housewife, the background was quite clear from the telephone conversation with Motohashi, so a long-term interrogation was not necessary, and there was no need to consider that either.
As a further problem, after the first arrest and detention, whether to re-arrest him for the Sada case and have the Hokkaido police travel to interrogate him while he is detained in Osaka, or to detain him in Hokkaido once, surfaced again. However, after all, it was difficult to escort such a criminal all the way to Hokkaido for one case and send him back to Osaka again, and considering the possibility that the trial would probably be held collectively in Osaka, the judgment was that it was most appropriate to keep him detained in Osaka as he was.
From the Hokkaido police's perspective, it was certainly difficult to conduct the investigation, but as a practical matter, Nishida's conclusion was that even if they interrogated him properly, he didn't think Takigawa would confess, and as a result, it wouldn't be a major obstacle.
Anyway, since the arrest of the Don of a national top-level yakuza organization is said to be involved in all sorts of other major crimes, it was highly likely that it would affect the investigations of not only the Hokkaido, Osaka, and Hyogo police and the Metropolitan Police Department but also other prefectural police. It is certain that while Takigawa is in detention, he will undergo considerable interrogation not only for the series of murders but also for other cases. And since the Aoi-ikka is seen as being involved as the mastermind behind the Shiun Association building bombing, they will undoubtedly be pursued for that as well.
Meanwhile, regarding the copies of the audio data and the copies of the notebook used as a diary, the Hokkaido police's SIL had also entered the analysis phase. They had already tentatively matched Takigawa's voiceprint, and it was seen as certainly possible to build a case for conspiracy as a co-principal or solicitation for murder here, as the outline of the incidents so far and the corroboration of the conversations had been obtained, even if Takigawa remained silent.
Furthermore, the existence of two antique shops seen as having been used for the exchange of rewards in Osaka was confirmed, and a raid was already scheduled for another matter. It seems that the identification and investigation of other persons seen as being involved in the contract killings from the telephone conversations are also being started at a rapid pace.
Also, at the stage before the Hokkaido police re-arrest him for the Sada Minoru murder, it had been decided to dispatch investigators from the Hokkaido police to the Osaka Prefectural Police, and it had been decided that Kusaka and Mayuzumi from Kitami, and a detective from Section 1 of the Hokkaido Prefectural Police Headquarters, would be dispatched.
※※※※※※※
Finally, on the evening of this day, Takeshita, who could be called the greatest shadow contributor this time, returned from Osaka to New Chitose Airport. Although it was a covert operation, the Hokkaido police side also needed to properly grasp the facts regarding the process of this "investigation," and with the permission of the Criminal Investigation Director, Nishida and the others had decided to invite Takeshita to the reception room of the Criminal Investigation Department to hear his story.
Originally, they would have had to be a bit more formal, but the existence of Takeshita had been confirmed to be erased as if it hadn't been in the investigation process, and there was also the reason that it was more of a consolation for his great contribution than a report.
Even in Osaka, Takeshita had already been questioned about the facts, but he shouldn't have revealed the details regarding his involvement with Kuroda and Kuboyama, and it must have been a clearly different content from what would be done in front of Nishida and Yoshimura.
Even though he was busy, there was no way Nishida would choose not to personally meet Takeshita, who had met expectations brilliantly as an outsider, or rather, had achieved far greater results. Having contacted him in advance, he was waiting at the west ticket gate of Sapporo Station for Takeshita, who was returning by JR, and Takeshita, who had come down the escalator leading to the platform dragging a carry-on bag, spotted Nishida and Yoshimura and raised his hand.
"No, good work! You really did well! So, you're staying over today, right? Normally I'd have to entertain you, but we're busy too. Criminal Investigation Director Gojo should be coming to thank you later too."
Nishida immediately spoke to Takeshita, who had passed through the ticket gate, in rapid succession, and Yoshimura followed with,
"It was just as expected! Please tell us in detail exactly what happened."
He said with a smile. Having been spoken to continuously, Takeshita said,
"I'm quite tired after everything, so please let me take it easy."
He smiled wryly. And,
"Even so, is my involvement being looked upon favorably by the Headquarters? To be honest, it's good because these results came out, but I think various things were bad..."
He asked worriedly about how his actions (T/N: 'katsuyaku' - activity/success) had affected the Hokkaido police.
"Well, it's true that when I requested cooperation from the Osaka Prefectural Police through Gojo-san after hearing from Takeshita, he was quite surprised, but more than the fact that a newspaper reporter was directly involved, the size of what came out is hardly an issue. In fact, Takeshita, you were welcomed at the Osaka Prefectural Police (T/N: 'acchi' - over there), weren't you?"
"That's true. Originally, I think I was an uninvited guest, but did the fact that I'm a former detective and that Mr. Murono, who I worked with before, was the Section 1 Head help alleviate that a bit?"
Takeshita, questioned by Nishida in return, replied so. Regarding Murono, he had mentioned him when he contacted Nishida by phone after the questioning at the Osaka Prefectural Police.
"What are you saying? If you bring evidence of Takigawa's involvement in murder, any policeman would be happy."
Yoshimura pointed out the greatest and most appropriate reason as if he were exasperated.
"Well, that's true too."
Nishida and Takeshita both smiled upon receiving that obvious answer.
"By the way, you're going to your wife's place tonight, not a hotel, right?"
While heading from the ticket gate to the south exit, Nishida confirmed with Takeshita, and he replied,
"Of course I intend to. Today, for the first time in a while, it's just the two of us as a couple. I'd actually be troubled if you entertained me."
Since he had been posted alone to the Monbetsu branch, he apparently hadn't returned to his home in Sapporo for over two months. Even though the distance to the Hokkaido Prefectural Police Headquarters building was almost nothing, for the sake of Takeshita who had luggage, they headed for the Headquarters by taxi from the taxi stand.
※※※※※※※