Chapter 198 - Name and Reality 121 {149 Alone} (353-354: To Sapporo for Reporting and Confirmation with the Sada Bereaved Family)
It was just past 23:00 on October 19th, as the date was about to change. Nishida and Yoshimura were on the platform of Kitami Station. Since it was a Saturday, Nishida vaguely thought that there were probably more passengers waiting for the Okhotsk No. 10 on the platform than usual for this time at Kitami Station. Naturally, the two of them were there after finishing their day's work to board that Okhotsk No. 10 and head for Sapporo.
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Since the previous day's dinner, Nishida and Yoshimura's investigation had progressed rapidly. After confirming something with Takekuma, just to be safe, they had also confirmed with Takeshita the details of the interview at the Saroma Fishery Cooperative that Takeshita had recorded in Nishida's investigation notes. As a result, they had finally reached the point of visiting the Sada family in Sapporo to confirm whether their reasoning regarding the mystery of the relationship between Sada Minoru and the Boss was correct.
In actual fact, even without going directly to Sapporo, a phone confirmation with the widow, Akiko, would have sufficed. However, now that Oshima had finally been arrested and the truth behind Minoru's murder had been mostly clarified, Nishida felt that meeting Akiko in person and explaining the circumstances as much as possible was the way for the detective in charge to fulfill his responsibility, so they concluded they should go to Sapporo directly after all.
However, that was merely the official stance; Nishida was also aware that his desire to personally confirm the "evidence" with his own eyes was actually quite strong. Yoshimura likely understood this, or perhaps felt the same way himself, as he didn't say a single word like, "Couldn't we just have the wife confirm it?" Thus, they called Akiko and arranged a meeting at the Sada residence on October 20th, including her son and daughter who were already married and independent.
When they proposed this to Section Chief Mitani, he had reluctantly agreed to their temporary departure from the exclusive assignment at Yasumura's request, but he complained quite a bit about them leaving Kitami entirely until Monday.
As long as they were investigating within the Regional Headquarters, the Investigation Headquarters, or Kitami and its surroundings, they could be called back immediately if anything happened, but once they were in Sapporo, they couldn't return so easily. Since they were handling a "critical matter," it was only natural for someone—not just Mitani—to want to complain about two people in positions of significant responsibility for the investigation leaving Kitami, even if they had stepped away from the exclusive assignment. Nishida understood this well. However, his determination that they had to go to Sapporo was also unwavering. Above all, there was the "excuse" that Oshima himself remained in custody in Sapporo, not Kitami.
Mitani complained incessantly and ended up sounding rather grumbly, but he finally gave his reluctant approval, saying, "I owe Nishida a debt, after all..." Needless to say, the "debt" referred to the time when Nishida had strongly insisted on the raid on Oshima's office, and Mitani had sided with the opposition along with Koyabu and others. In the end, Yasumura had sided with Nishida and forced it through, but Mitani likely had a part of him that had been bothered by it for a while.
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"Still, it's cold, isn't it..."
Nishida spoke to Yoshimura while blowing white breath onto both his hands. Even though it was mid-October, the temperature at this hour was around 3 degrees Celsius, and it was noticeable that the other passengers waiting for the Okhotsk to enter the platform were stepping in place or shaking their bodies slightly to endure the cold.
"In the mornings and evenings, you can't stand it without a stove anymore," Yoshimura said, fidgeting with his hands thrust into his coat pockets.
"Has it been seven years... Her voice on the phone sounded energetic, though."
Nishida abruptly mentioned Akiko, whom they were promised to meet tomorrow afternoon.
"Well, it's truly good that we could produce results while the wife is still healthy," Yoshimura, who was quite sympathetic toward Akiko, responded.
"Regardless of her being healthy, if we didn't manage something within this year, it would have been the end of it, so it's truly good."
Nishida also spoke with the impending statute of limitations in mind.
"As for the Sada case, if it weren't for Motohashi's final push, I wonder if it would have become this clear..." Yoshimura said with a hint of regret. Indeed, they had to admit, unfortunately, that the contribution of Motohashi's revenge drama had been the deciding factor.
Not long after that, the Okhotsk No. 10 pulled into the platform with the roar of its diesel engine from the direction of Abashiri. It swallowed the two into the non-reserved seats and departed into the pitch-black darkness toward Sapporo. Furthermore, it arrived at the next stop, Rubeshibe Station, in about 20 minutes, and from there headed toward the next stop, Ikutahara Station.
The time was exactly just before the date changed. Although there were more passengers than usual in the non-reserved section, there were still plenty of vacancies, and Nishida and Yoshimura occupied four seats by facing them toward each other, each stretching out their legs. However, neither Nishida nor Yoshimura could sleep a wink, and they stared out the train window without exchanging conversation.
The Okhotsk No. 10 passed Kanehana Station, near which stands the monument to the perished Tako-beya Laborers, and finally, with its engine sounding like it was gasping, it ran heavily yet steadily toward the summit.
Eventually, the sound of the train's movement changed subtly, and a dim space, different from the darkness of night, began to spread across the window. It had undoubtedly entered the Jomon Tunnel, and the interior lights, dimmed for the night, could be seen reflecting off the walls.
How many sacrifices were made to pierce through these mere few hundred meters? Now that it passed by in about 30 seconds, it was impossible to easily imagine. On the other hand, for the two who knew the heavy truth of history, unlike the other passengers... though perhaps there were locals who were aware of it... they felt the passage in a different sense as being long.
The sensation they felt while passing through the Jomon Tunnel was different from what they had experienced when riding the JR since the incident occurred; perhaps it was because they were placed in a position to feel the weight of history more poignantly as the investigation progressed. Or perhaps the fact that they had approached the truth of the incident was instead an element that made their hearts heavy, causing them to feel that way. However, the two could not clearly distinguish between the two.
And then, to the right of the Okhotsk No. 10's window as it emerged back into the "normal" darkness, that Remote Grave Marker, which had significantly changed their lives as detectives, surely existed even if it couldn't be seen. Neither Nishida nor Yoshimura mentioned it, straining their eyes out the window, but by the time the train slid into the platform of Ikutahara Station, both had closed their eyes to prepare for tomorrow.
However, despite their fatigue, neither of them could fall into a proper sleep until they reached Sapporo. This was not because it was a night diesel express with noisy engines, nor because it was a seated car rather than a sleeper, nor was it due to the excitement of the case heading toward a final resolution; it was likely the work of the opposite feeling—the despair of having to apprehend an acquaintance.
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The following day, Sunday, October 20th. Arriving at Sapporo Station around 6:30 in the morning, the two decided to rest at their respective family homes for a while. Since the appointment was at 3:00 PM, there was still plenty of time. Having not slept well, the fact that they could take a nap to some extent was a help.
Since both Nishida and Yoshimura felt a fatigue beyond just lack of sleep, they decided to take a taxi directly from Sapporo Station instead of using public transport like the subway. In Yoshimura's case, his family home was in Hachiken, so it was quite a distance from Sapporo Station, and taking a taxi from Nijuyonken Station on the subway would likely be cheaper, but he didn't seem to have the energy for that.
Nishida returned home, but his wife Yuka and daughter Mika were asleep. He quietly changed into the clothes that had been prepared for him and began reading the newspaper in the living room. For his first return in a long while, it might have been a rather blunt reception. However, since Nishida himself had told Yuka, "Don't worry about it and just stay asleep," if he were to get angry just because she followed through, in this era of female superiority, the logic unfortunately dictated that the husband would be the one blamed.
Now, as for the pages of the Doho newspaper, they were as usual bustling with articles about the North Korean abduction issue and the cases involving Oshima and Takigawa. Nishida, who was directly involved as an investigator, checked the contents of the articles, muttering things like "This is wrong..." while flipping through other pages to kill time by reading the whole thing.
After about an hour had passed, it was finally time for the "Goddess of the Mountain" (T/N: slang for one's wife) to wake up, and he was greeted with a cool "Oh, welcome back," which was an indescribable reaction. Nevertheless, she immediately prepared breakfast for him, and he could say that he reaffirmed the value of a wife—one of the few he had left—precisely because he was living away from home.
As for his daughter Mika, she only gave him a blunt greeting upon waking up: "Ah, you were back? That's rare," but I suppose most households are like this. If one thinks of this kind of reaction as being possible only because of peace, even a seemingly bland morning can be felt as deeply meaningful.
Despite everything, he was able to relax greatly precisely because it was his home after a long time. After taking a nap for a few hours, Nishida headed to Yoshimura's family home in his own car. They had been using police vehicles until now, but this time, since it was a hassle to go all the way to the Hokkaido Prefectural Police Headquarters to borrow one, they decided to visit the Sada residence directly in Nishida's private car.
In front of Yoshimura's house in Hachiken, Yoshimura's mother went out of her way to welcome them and gave her greetings. His father had passed away three years ago, and knowing that it was just his mother alone, Nishida knew Yoshimura was worried about her in his own way, but she looked quite energetic, which Nishida thought was good.
"It's good to see your mother is doing well," Nishida said as they started talking.
"I'm grateful for that, but she's nearly 70, after all. My old man was energetic too, but it was sudden... By the way, how is the Assistant Section Chief? Both of you are well, I assume?" he was asked in return.
"Yeah, fortunately. We're healthy, and both our wives are doing well too. How about your wife's side?"
"Both of them are alive and well over there."
It was a conversation they likely wouldn't have had seven years ago. It couldn't be helped that the conversation between Nishida, who was 39 in 1995 (Author's Note: There is a possibility I set it to 36 in some places previously; if so, I apologize), and Yoshimura, who was 30 (I might have made it 32 as well. Sorry), would change after seven years. And eventually—or rather, in the blink of an eye—they themselves would reach the age where their daughters would worry about them. No, rather than being worried about, it might be better than being treated as a nuisance and potentially being on the path to Ubasuteyama (T/N: a legendary mountain where the elderly were abandoned).
While having such a conversation, the car entered Hokudai-dori from Shinkawa-dori, turned right onto the Sapporo Shindo from there, and slid into the Sada residence in Fushiko.
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"Yoshimura, it's been since that time seven years ago for you too, right?" Nishida confirmed as he closed the car door.
"No, it's not... I think it was about four years ago, I happened to come nearby for an investigation and just saw the wife, Akiko-san's face at the front door before leaving. It was a sudden visit, so I didn't want to cause any trouble."
At Yoshimura's unexpected reply, Nishida said, "Was that so! I've been completely out of touch."
"Well, if there are no 'results,' it can't be helped. I hesitated too, back then... But this time we can give a good report, so I feel easier in that regard. Though it's a visit carrying a different kind of burden..."
Yoshimura said so, but to be precise, even seven years ago when they visited after returning to Sapporo from Motohashi's interrogation in Osaka, they could say that a result—albeit incomplete—in the form of Motohashi's confession had been achieved.
However, between Nishida finishing the report over the phone from Osaka while asking Akiko about the possession of the book on making forged documents, and the new interrogation of Akiko regarding the matter of Minoru making forged documents that needed to be confirmed, they hadn't given a proper report. In the first place, the fact that Nishida and the others themselves didn't think everything had been resolved was the reason they hadn't given a proper report face-to-face.